WORK AND PENSIONS

Carer’s Allowance

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary for Work and Pensions what (a) transitional arrangements and (b) additional services will be put in place for couples with children including one partner who claims (i) carer's allowance as a full-time carer and (ii) incapacity benefit who work between 16 and 24 hours a week and will lose their entitlement to working tax credit unless they increase their hours of work to over 24 hours a week.

David Gauke: I have been asked to reply.
	Couples with children will continue to qualify for working tax credit where at least one member of a couple works at least 16 hours per week and that person is eligible for the working tax credit disability element or is aged 60 or over.
	Couples with children where one partner is being paid a carer's allowance as a full time carer of their partner will also continue to qualify where working 16 hours or more a week.
	Couples with children may also qualify for working tax credit if one member of a couple works at least 16 hours a week and a qualifying sickness or disability benefit, for example, incapacity benefit is payable for the other.
	HMRC is not planning to make any transitional arrangements or provide additional services for couples with children who may lose entitlement to working tax credit as a result of the change to the working hours conditions in April 2012.
	HMRC will be writing to those who may be affected before the end of this year to advise them of the change and what they need to do if they wish to continue to qualify for working tax credit.

Departmental Procurement

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what procedures his Department uses when engaging external consultants.

Chris Grayling: DWP is subject to a Treasury/Cabinet Office ‘freeze’ on consultancy spend and spend is permitted only in cases of operational necessity and where there are no suitable in-house resources.
	DWP obtains ministerial sign-off for any spend exceeding £20,000 in value and has this reapproved on a rolling three-month basis. Additionally DWP submits contracts in excess of nine months and those for procurement related consultancy to the Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury for approval.
	DWP has a framework agreement, compliant with the requirements of the EU procurement regulations, of consultancy suppliers that it uses as its default sourcing route once spend has been approved.

Enterprise Allowance Scheme

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what advice from independent business consultants is available as part of his Department's enterprise allowance scheme.

Chris Grayling: Once accepted onto the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) a participant is matched with a volunteer business mentor who will provide advice and support from the first stages of business plan development, through start-up and into the early months of trading. The business mentor is there to provide guidance on all aspects of business start-up that will help make the NEA participant's new business a success. New Enterprise Allowance partnerships are also responsible for drawing together other sources of business advice and support for participants, to ensure that they and their business mentor have access to all the information they might need.

Enterprise Allowance Scheme

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consultation his Department undertook with the Institute of Business Consultants in developing the enterprise allowance scheme.

Chris Grayling: The New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) is the responsibility of the Department for Work and Pensions. In developing the NEA the Department consulted with a number of stakeholders across the country to ensure the NEA provides the support unemployed people need to successfully start their own businesses. However, the Department did not consult with the Institute of Business Consultants.
	Business support in Wales is a devolved matter and the Department did consult with the Welsh Government during the development of the NEA.

Enterprise Allowance Scheme: Wales

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has had discussions on the development of the enterprise allowance scheme with (a) the Welsh Government and (b) professional bodies representing business advisers in Wales.

Chris Grayling: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), and Ministers from the Department for Work and Pensions have discussed welfare reform with the Welsh Government, however the development of the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) has not formed part of those discussions.
	In developing the NEA the Department consulted with a number of stakeholders across the country, however the Secretary of State has not discussed the development of the NEA with any professional bodies specifically representing business advisers in Wales.

Pension Credit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average time was between a person making their (a) first and (b) second claim for pension credit and receiving a decision in the latest period for which figures are available.

Steve Webb: The actual average clearance time (AACT) for all first and second claims for pension credit (PC) is 10.3 days. This is based on current year to date information from April 2011 to September 2011.
	Notes
	(i) The actual average clearance time (AACT) is measured from the date on which all evidence is received to enable a decision to be made.
	(ii) We have taken a second claim for PC to mean a new claim. When a person's earnings extinguish their entitlement to PC, their claim to PC is closed. When their employment ends they should contact the Pension Service to make a new claim.
	Source
	Management Information System Programme (MISP)

Social Fund: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much and what proportion of the social fund is spent in Scotland.

Steve Webb: The information requested for 2010-11 is set out as follows.
	
		
			 Amount and proportion of Community Care Grant spend in Scotland 
			  Expenditure  (£ million) Proportion spend (percentage) 
			 Scotland 20.8 15 
			 England and Wales 118.1 85 
			 Total 138.9 100 
		
	
	
		
			 Amount and proportion of budgeting loan spend in Scotland 
			  Expenditure  (£ million) Proportion spend (percentage) 
			 Scotland 48.5 11 
			 England and Wales 397.4 89 
			 Total 445.9 100 
		
	
	
		
			 Amount and proportion of c  ris  is loan spend in Scotland 
			  Expenditure  (£ million) Proportion spend (percentage) 
			 Scotland 29.0 13 
			 England and Wales 199.4 87 
			 Total 228.3 100 
		
	
	
		
			 Amount and proportion of Sure Start Maternity Grant spend in Scotland 
			  Expenditure  (£ million) Proportion spend (percentage) 
			 Scotland 9.3 7 
			 England and Wales 120.7 93 
			 Total 130.1 100 
		
	
	
		
			 Amount and proportion of funeral payment spend in Scotland 
			  Expenditure  (£ million) Proportion spend (percentage) 
			 Scotland 6.2 13 
			 England and Wales 40.3 87 
		
	
	
		
			 Total 46.5 100 
		
	
	
		
			 Amount and proportion of cold weather payment spend in Scotland 
			  Expenditure  (£ million) Proportion spend (percentage) 
			 Scotland 93.9 22 
			 England and Wales 336.9 78 
			 Total 430.8 100 
		
	
	
		
			 Amount and proportion of winter fuel payment spend in Scotland 
			  Expenditure  (£ million) Proportion spend (percentage) 
			 Scotland 239.7 9 
			 England and Wales 2,503.4 91 
			 Total 2,743.1 100 
			 Notes: 1. The information provided is management information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official/National Statistics but in this case we only have management information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official/National statistics and there are some issues with the data, for example, it does not include applications which were processed clerically and have not yet been entered on to the social fund computer system. 2. Figures rounded to the nearest £100,000. 3. For technical reasons, it is only possible to give estimates of cold weather payments, not actual out-turns. 4. For cold weather payments there are three weather stations which straddle the England and Scotland border and these have not been included in the Scotland estimate. 5. The payment per week of cold weather was £25 in 2010-11. 6. For crisis loans, budgeting loans, funeral payments, sure start maternity grants and community care grants social fund budget areas has been used to determine expenditure.

Social Security Benefits

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the incidence of benefit claiming is in each of the smallest geographical units for which data is available.

Maria Miller: The information requested is 4,500 pages long and has therefore been placed in the Library for ease of reference.

Social Security Benefits: Post Offices

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the level of benefits paid by his Department directly into (a) Post Office card accounts and (b) bank accounts in each of the last three years.

Steve Webb: The following table shows the percentage of benefit and pension accounts administered by DWP being paid into (a) Post Office card accounts and (b) bank accounts as at June in each of the last three years.
	
		
			  Percentage paid into Post Office card account Percentage paid into bank account 
			 2009 18.1 80.2 
			 2010 17.1 81.5 
			 2011 16.1 82.8 
			 Source: DWP, Information Directorate. 
		
	
	A small number of benefit and pension recipients (less than 2%) cannot be paid into an account and are currently paid by cheque.

Widowed Parents Allowance

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  whether he plans to amend eligibility criteria for widowed parent's allowance to include people who lived with and had a child with the deceased but who were not married or in a civil partnership;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the eligibility criteria for widowed parent's allowance in relation to applicants who lived with a partner and had a child but were not married or in a civil partnership.

Steve Webb: This Government are clear that the benefits system should help bereaved people cope with their immediate needs and adjust to their new circumstances. It should do so in a way that avoids additional stress at this difficult time.
	As bereavement benefits have been in place since 2001, in their current form, the Government are currently undertaking a fundamental review into the impact of the current regime, societal changes, and the relationship with universal credit.
	Social research is under way which will enable us to gain insight into the dynamic impact of bereavement on different household types. Understanding the challenges people face, as well as how they overcome them and over what timescale, will help steer our work on any options for reform.
	This research will be published in due course and any subsequent proposals for reform will be subject to public consultation in the normal way.

Widowed Parents Allowance

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applications for widowed parent's allowance were rejected on the basis that the applicant lived with a deceased partner but was not married or in a civil partnership in the latest period for which figures are available.

Steve Webb: The figures requested are not available, as there is no central record of bereavement benefit claims which have been disallowed.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Clean Energy Ministerial 2012

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what priorities he has set for the G20 Clean Energy Ministerial 2012.

Gregory Barker: The Government's key priorities for the 2012 Clean Energy Ministerial include securing practical progress on low carbon energy deployment through bringing the public and private sectors together and sharing best practice in the UK and internationally.
	This will be achieved through detailed discussion, for example on public and private finance for clean energy, on energy efficiency and by building on the 11 CEM initiatives announced last year (Carbon Capture Use and Storage, Clean Energy Education and Empowerment Women's Initiative, Electric Vehicles, Global Superior Energy Performance Partnership, International Smart Grid Action Network, Super-Efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment Initiative, Solar and LED Energy Access Programme, Bioenergy Working Group, Clean Energy Solutions Centre, Sustainable Development of Hydropower Initiative and Multilateral Solar and Wind Working Group).

Departmental Consultants

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what procedures his Department uses when engaging external consultants.

Gregory Barker: The Department only uses external consultants for essential work which it is clear cannot be done in-house.
	The business case for any proposed consultancy in excess of £20,000 must be approved by the Chief Operating Officer and a Minister. Continuing contracts must be re-approved every three months. Contracting through a cross-Government framework agreement is always considered first, however if no suitable framework exists then an open competitive tender is placed on the Official Journal of the European Union (if the estimated value is near or above the EU threshold), or if below using the Contracts Finder facility which ensures open competition.
	Similar procedures apply to proposed consultancy below £20,000 except that approval at Director General level is sufficient in such cases.

Departmental Fines

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many transport-related fines his Department has settled on behalf of its staff and at what cost in each year since its inception.

Gregory Barker: DECC's policy is that does not pay fines on behalf of its staff.

Departmental Public Expenditure

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department spent on new furnishings in the last year.

Gregory Barker: In the financial year 2010-11 DECC spent £53,000 on furniture and fixtures and fittings.
	In the financial year 2010-11 DECC also spent £218,000 on facility management minor works which includes fixtures and fittings, painting, carpeting and upgrading toilets.

Electricity: Prices

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department has assessed the Exeltium consortium in France as a model for the supply of low-carbon electricity to energy-intensive industries at a fixed price.

Gregory Barker: The Government have asked energy intensive industry to examine whether such an approach could translate to the UK energy market and is ready to help facilitate discussions with utilities on this issue. This option is being considered as part of the development of the package of measures to reduce the effects of Government policy on electricity costs for those energy-intensive businesses whose international competitiveness is most affected by UK energy and climate change policy. Government plan to announce the details of the package before the end of the year.

Energy Companies: Secondment

Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many staff have been seconded from energy companies to his Department to assist with preparing its electricity market reform proposals; and from which companies.

Gregory Barker: Two members of staff have been seconded to the Department of Energy and Climate Change from the companies identified as follows to assist with preparing the electricity market reform proposals(1):
	Elexon
	National Grid.
	(1) A number of staff have also been seconded to DECC from energy consultancies but are not included in the figures above as these are not classified as energy companies.

Energy Supply: Prices

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what consideration he has given to allowing energy-intensive industries to claim back the carbon price support rates paid on electricity; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the potential risks to energy-intensive industries of the introduction of carbon price support; and whether he has identified certain industries as priorities for any mitigation.

Gregory Barker: Tax is a matter for HM Treasury. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), keeps all tax policy under review as part of the Budget process.
	The Government response to the carbon price floor consultation, and accompanying tax impact and information note (TIIN) estimated that electricity bills for an average energy-intensive business will increase by 2% and 6% in 2013 and 2016 respectively.
	As announced as part of the Fourth Carbon Budget, the Government will announce before the end of the year a package of measures for those energy intensive businesses whose international competitiveness is most affected by our energy and climate change policies, in order to reduce the impact of Government policy on the cost of electricity for these businesses. We are undertaking a sector by sector analysis to ensure the package targets the most affected industries.

Energy Supply: Prices

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with (a) Scottish Power, (b) EDF Energy, (c) E.ON UK, (d) Scottish and Southern Energy, (e) Centrica-British Gas and (f) nPower on domestic energy costs;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on fuel poverty and domestic energy costs;
	(3)  what recent representations he has received from (a) organisations representing elderly people, (b) individuals and (c) environmental groups on domestic energy costs.

Gregory Barker: Ministers and officials meet regularly with the stakeholders mentioned above, to discuss a range of issues. Quarterly lists of DECC Ministers' meetings that involve outside interested parties are published on the DECC website, available at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/accesstoinform/registers/ministermtgs/ministermtgs.aspx
	Officials have been working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions developing the data matching elements of the Warm Home Discount scheme to ensure that up to 600,000 of the poorest pensioners in Great Britain receive an automatic rebate of £120 on their electricity bills this winter.
	We have also had regular discussions with energy suppliers to secure a voluntary agreement to provide consumers with cheaper tariff information on bills this winter, and an additional winter mail out to provide millions of customers with information on how much they could save by switching to direct debit payment.

Energy: Housing

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what his policy is on the use of bioliquid as a household fuel;
	(2)  what his policy is on including conversions to the use of bioliquid as a domestic fuel within the Renewable Heat Incentive;
	(3)  if he will assess the likely effect on levels of greenhouse gas emissions of increased use of bioliquid as a household fuel.

Gregory Barker: Our policy is that electricity generated from bioliquids, including at the microgeneration level, can be eligible for support under the renewables obligation as long as the bioliquids pass the mandatory sustainability criteria. For every megawatt of electricity produced from bioliquids, generators currently receive: 1.5 renewable obligation certificates (ROCs) for dedicated bioliquids, 1 ROC for fossil derived bioliquids such as FAME (fatty acid methyl ester) biodiesel, 0.5 ROCs for co-firing and 2 ROCs for fuels made through advanced pyrolysis. We expect to publish a consultation shortly which will set proposals for support for bioliquids and other renewable technologies in the renewables obligation from 2013. The consultation will be accompanied by an impact assessment which will assess the impact of the proposals on greenhouse gas emissions.
	Use of bioliquids as a household fuel, including conversion of existing boilers, is not currently supported under the renewable heat incentive (RHI) or the renewable heat premium payment. As stated in the RHI document (published in March) we are considering whether to support bioliquids as part of developing the second phase of the RHI scheme. As in the case of the renewable obligation, an impact assessment will be produced which will assess the impact of the proposals on greenhouse gas emissions.

Green Deal Scheme

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answers of 7 July 2011, Official Report, column 1371W and of 5 September 2011, Official Report, column 197W, on energy: housing, when he expects the Green Deal to be launched; and how soon after the launch of the Green Deal he proposes to publish the outstanding progress reports under the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995.

Gregory Barker: We aim to launch the Green Deal in autumn 2012 and will seek to publish a progress report under HECA at the same time.

Natural Gas

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the maximum depth of drilling operations for shale gas is in the UK; and at what depths he expects hydraulic fracturing to take place.

Charles Hendry: Drilling depths for shale gas will be specific to the drilling location. However shale gas exploration drilling is only taking place in a small number of locations within the UK at present. The most active drilling area and the only one where hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for shale gas has been carried out is at Cuadrilla's site near Blackpool. Two exploration wells have been drilled, the deepest to a depth of 10,775 feet, and a further well is currently being drilled. Fracking has only taken place at one site—at depths of between 6,550 and 8,823 feet. Again, fracking depths will be dependent on the well location and the depth and size of any shale seam encountered.

Offshore Industry: Safety

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the report by the European Parliament on facing the challenges of the safety of offshore oil and gas activities.

Charles Hendry: The European Parliament report is an “own-initiative” report and has no formal legal standing.
	We are expecting formal proposals from the European Commission on the safety of offshore oil and gas activities to be issued before the end of the year. Following the release of these proposals, we would expect the European Parliament to comment further as part of the codecision process.

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he plans to increase the feed-in tariff for micro generators.

Gregory Barker: The comprehensive review of the feed-in tariffs (FITs) scheme is currently under way and is considering all aspects of the scheme including administration, tariffs and eligibility for FITs. We are intending to consult on formal proposals later this year. Changes as a result of the review will be implemented in April 2012 unless the review indicates the need for greater urgency.

Sellafield

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for what reason the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is planning to cease immobilising Dounreay Fast Reactor nuclear material on site and transporting it to Sellafield for reprocessing.

Charles Hendry: The forecast completion date of Magnox reprocessing has been extended for operational performance reasons to around 2017. This extension means that completion of Magnox Operating Plan (MOP) and recovery of Dounreay Fast Reactor (DFR) breeder material, through the Magnox reprocessing plant, are now on comparable time scales. Reprocessing of DFR breeder material accelerates remediation of the material by utilising an existing mature technology, which reduces programme, engineering and cost risk while meeting security and cost optimisation objectives. Further details on the case for DFR Breeder reprocessing can be found on the NDA website at
	http://www.nda.gov.uk/documents/upload/Exotic-Fuels-Dounreay-Fast-Reactor-DFR-Breeder-Credible-and-Preferred-Options-July-2011.pdf

Sellafield

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  for what reason the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is proposing further reprocessing of nuclear material, including breeder material from Dounreay;
	(2)  for what reason the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is proposing continued reprocessing of nuclear material at Sellafield, including increasing the amount of nuclear material to be reprocessed by planned transport from Dounreay to Sellafield of Dounreay Fast Reactor breeder material.

Charles Hendry: There are two reprocessing programmes in operation within the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) Estate: Magnox reprocessing and oxide reprocessing (in THORP).
	Reprocessing of Magnox fuel remains the most viable and cost effective option for the management of Magnox fuel. The forecast completion date of Magnox reprocessing has been extended for operational performance reasons to around 2017. The Magnox extension means that completion of Magnox Operating Plan (MOP) and recovery of Dounreay Fast Reactor (DFR) breeder material, through the Magnox reprocessing plant, are now on comparable timescales. Reprocessing of DFR breeder material accelerates remediation of the material by utilising an existing mature technology, which reduces programme, engineering and cost risk whilst meeting security and cost optimisation objectives. Further details on the case for DFR Breeder reprocessing can be found on the NDA website at:
	http://www.nda.gov.uk/documents/upload/Exotic-Fuels-Dounreay-Fast-Reactor-DFR-Breeder-Credible-and-Preferred-Options-July-2011.pdf
	In line with the Energy Act 2004 and published NDA Strategy 2011, the NDA strategic position is to complete the existing oxide fuel (in THORP) reprocessing contracts. This remains the most viable and cost-effective option.

Sellafield

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority will end all reprocessing activity at Sellafield and decommission the reprocessing facilities following the closure of the Sellafield MOX plant.

Charles Hendry: There are two reprocessing programmes in operation within the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) Estate: Magnox reprocessing and oxide reprocessing (in THORP). Reprocessing of Magnox fuel remains the most viable and cost effective option for the management of Magnox fuel. In line with the Energy Act 2004 and published NDA Strategy 2011, the NDA strategic position is to complete the existing oxide fuel reprocessing contracts. This remains the most viable and cost-effective option.
	Of these programmes, only oxide reprocessing will produce overseas owned plutonium, and in comparatively small quantities as the majority of overseas owned fuel has already been reprocessed. The closure of the Sellafield MOX plant (SMP) does not materially impact on these programmes and in any case it was only licensed and approved for dealing with overseas owned plutonium, as a product from reprocessing, stored in the UK.

Solar Power

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many companies with less than five people employed in their manual workforce and a turnover of under £0.5 million are registered as qualified to install solar thermal, air source and ground source systems under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme in (a) Wales and (b) nationally.

Gregory Barker: The Department does not hold information on the turnover or number of employees for certified MCS installation companies. All MCS installation companies are listed on the MCS website:
	www.microgenerationcertification.org
	The number of MCS installation companies based in the UK and Wales for solar thermal and heat pumps technologies are as follows:
	
		
			 Technology MCS companies in whole of UK MCS companies based in Wales 
			 Solar thermal 1004 38 
			 Ground source heat pumps 584 26 
			 Air source heat pumps 687 28 
		
	
	The total numbers of microgeneration installation companies registered as MCS certificated are:
	(a) 124 based in Wales;
	(b) 3,269 based in the whole UK.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much direct funding his Department provided to each civil society organisation it funded in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12; how much he expects to provide in (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: DECC's finance system does not record whether a supplier or grant recipient is a civil society organisation.
	To review the Department's records to identify all direct payments to civil society organisations would incur disproportionate costs.

Wind Power

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average amount of public subsidy was per onshore wind turbine per day in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Charles Hendry: The Renewables Obligation (RO) is a market based subsidy and ROCs are tradeable commodities which have no fixed price. The amount a supplier pays for a ROC is dependent on bi-lateral negotiations between supplier and generator.
	Information relating to stations accredited under the RO is based on station's capacity rather than number of turbines (operational turbines range from under 1MW up to around 3MW in size). The number of ROCs a generator receives depends on the number of MWh generated, which is dependent on load factors which vary across the country.
	The total number of ROCs issued to onshore wind turbines and the total installed capacity of accredited onshore wind farms across the UK in each of the last five years for which figures are available is given in the following table:
	
		
			  ROCs issued to onshore wind Capacity (MW) 
			 2005-06 2,595,267 1,583 
			 2006-07 4,208,975 1,903 
			 2007-08 4,816,343 2,538 
			 2008-09 6,220,107 3,131 
			 2009-10 7,250,909 3,700 
		
	
	The nominal value represents the maximum worth of a ROC to a generator but is not necessarily the amount paid by a supplier. The nominal value of a ROC for each of the last five years is given in the following table:
	
		
			  Nominal ROC value (£) 
			 2005-06 42.54 
			 2006-07 49.28 
			 2007-08 52.95 
			 2008-09 54.37 
			 2009-10 52.36

Wind Power

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much each onshore wind farm company received in subsidy from the public purse in each of the last 12 months.

Charles Hendry: Under the Renewables Obligation (RO), onshore wind farms currently receive one Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC) for each megawatt hour (MWh) of eligible electricity they generate. The RO is a market based subsidy and ROCs are tradeable commodities which have no fixed price. The amount a supplier pays for a ROC is dependent on bi-lateral negotiations between supplier and generator.
	The number of ROCs issued to each generating station is available on the Ofgem website:
	https://www.renewablesandchp.ofgem.gov.uk/Public/Report Manager.aspx?ReportVisibility=1&ReportCategory=0

Wind Power

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average efficiency of on-shore wind turbines was in each of the last 12 months.

Charles Hendry: We understand this question to mean load factors, rather than efficiency. DECC produces load factors for onshore wind, on a quarterly basis. These can be found for the last four quarters in the following table.
	
		
			 Year/  Quarter Onshore wind load factor (percentage) 
			 2010 Q3 21.9 
			 2010 Q4 25.7 
			 2011 Q1 26.3 
			 2011 Q2 27.0 
			 Note: Quarterly wind load factors are produced on a standard basis, rather than the unchanged configuration basis used for annual load factors. Source: Energy Trends table ET 7.1—available at: http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/energy_stats/source/renewables/renewables.aspx

Wind Power

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much energy was produced by on-shore wind generation in each of the last 12 months; and what proportion of the UK's total energy requirement this represented in each month.

Charles Hendry: DECC produces data for all onshore wind generation, and total energy supply, on a quarterly basis. The following table shows the contribution of onshore wind generation to total UK energy, as well as electricity, supply in each of the last four quarters.
	
		
			 Year/  Quarter Onshore wind generation (GWh) Proportion of UK total energy supply (percentage) Proportion of UK electricity supply (percentage) 
			 2010 Q3 1,903 0.4 2.2 
			 2010 Q4 2,272 0.3 2.2 
			 2011 Q1 2,322 0.3 2.2 
		
	
	
		
			 2011 Q2 2,480 0.5 2.9 
			 Sources: 1. Onshore wind generation: Energy Trends table ET 7.1, available at: http://www.decc.gov.uk/(lc/en/content/cms/statistics/energy_stats/source/renewables/renewables.aspx 2. UK energy supply: Energy Trends table ET 1.3, available at: http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/energy_stats/source/total/total.aspx 3. UK electricity supply: Energy Trends table ET 5.2, available at: http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/energy_stats/source/electricity/electricity.aspx

Wind Power

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the average amount of energy used per month by a 126.5m wind turbine; and how much was spent from the public purse on subsidies for energy used by such turbines in the latest period for which figures are available.

Charles Hendry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 2 March 2011, Official Report, column 442W, in which I stated that independent analysis commissioned by DECC estimates own power used by wind turbines ranges between 1.5% and 2.4%.
	The Renewable Obligation is a generation based subsidy. Renewable Obligation Certificates are therefore issued in respect of the renewable output of a generating station. However, the "renewable output" of a generating station is reduced to take into account "input electricity" if the input electricity used by the generating station in generating the output electricity exceeds 0.5% of the total amount of the output electricity. This is set out in Article 25(1) and (2) of the Renewables Obligation Order 2009.
	Input electricity is defined in Article 24(6)(a) of the Renewables Obligation Order 2009 as the total amount of electricity used by that station for purposes directly related to its operation, including for fuel handling, fuel preparation, maintenance and the pumping of water, whether or not that electricity is generated by the station or used while the station is generating electricity.

Wind Power

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many onshore wind turbines produced energy for the national grid in August 2011.

Charles Hendry: Monthly generation data are available for stations accredited under the Renewables Obligation (RO), from Ofgem. However, this is based on station capacity rather than the number of turbines deployed.
	Data relating to the number of Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) issued in for generation that took place in August 2011 are not currently available. The latest figures, for June 2011, show that 296 RO accredited onshore wind generating stations in the UK received ROCs for electricity generated in that month. This information is publicly available and can be downloaded from Ofgem's website:
	https://www.renewablesandchp.ofgem.gov.uk/

Wind Power

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what representations his Department has received from companies involved in the production of onshore wind energy since 1 July 2011; what the nature was of each such representation; and who represented his Department in any meetings that took place with these companies.

Charles Hendry: DECC Ministers and officials meet regularly with representatives of energy suppliers, developers, the wider industry and other stakeholders to discuss issues related to the production of onshore wind energy in the UK.

Wind Power

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many secondees from companies involved in wind energy production in the UK are working in his Department; what their roles are; and how long they have been in post.

Charles Hendry: None.

Wind Power: Scotland

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the annual load factor of onshore wind in Scotland was (a) in each of the last 10 years and (b) as an average over the last 10 years.

Charles Hendry: Annual load factors for onshore wind in Scotland for the years 2001 to 2010, as well as a 10-year average, can be found in the following table:
	
		
			  Load factor (%) 
			 2001 27.0 
			 2002 29.0 
			 2003 28.0 
			 2004 34.0 
			 2005 30.0 
			 2006 25.8 
			 2007 27.6 
			 2008 29.6 
			 2009 27.9 
			 2010 21.7 
			 Average 2001-10 28.1 
			 Source:  RESTATS Regional Statistics, available at: https://restats.decc.gov.uk/cms/historic-regional-statistics/

TRANSPORT

Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing Reform

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with (a) consumer organisations, (b) airlines and (c) representatives of travel agents in relation to proposed changes to the Air Travel Organisers' Licensing scheme.

Theresa Villiers: The ATOL Reform Consultation took place between the 23 June and 15 September 2011. All parties with an interest in the proposals were invited to respond.
	The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), Department officials and I have discussed the ATOL reform proposals with representatives of consumer organisations, airlines and travel agents during meetings and stakeholder events.

Aviation

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received on the one bag rule applied by certain airlines; and if he will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: The size and number of bags that a passenger is permitted to take on board a commercial aircraft is a matter for airlines to decide as private companies operating in a global market.
	Baggage restriction policies and charges can vary considerably between airlines. In most cases, airlines will align their baggage allowances and charging policies in accordance with a number of considerations, for example the size of the aircraft and the distance to destinations. Passengers should always check what is permitted with their airline before they travel.

Departmental Cycling

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what meetings his Department has had with the Department of Health on promoting the cycle to work scheme.

Norman Baker: Earlier this year Department for Transport officials were in dialogue with the Department of Health with regard to inclusion of the cycle to work scheme and Cycle to Work Guarantee in the Public Health Responsibility Deal pledges and guidance.
	Information on the Public Health Responsibility Deal is available at:
	http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publichealth/Publichealth responsibilitydeal/index.htm

Driving Tests

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration he has given to the introduction of (a) motorcycle and (b) other hazard-based training in car driving tests.

Michael Penning: The theory test assesses a candidate's knowledge of driving theory, in particular the rules of the road and best driving practice. The wide range of topics covered requires candidates to prepare themselves for questions about other road users, particularly those identified as vulnerable such as motorcyclists.
	An integral part of the practical driving test is assessing how the candidate interacts with other road users, including motorcyclists.

Package Holidays

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many package holidays were booked in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11; and how many and what proportion of such holidays were sold by (i) tour operators and (ii) airlines.

Theresa Villiers: The Office for National Statistics has reported that:
	(a) In 2008 45,531 holidays abroad were taken by UK residents. 17,914 of these were inclusive tours or packages.
	(b) In 2009 38,492 holidays abroad were taken by UK residents. 14,507 of these were inclusive tours or packages.
	(c) In 2010 36,422 holidays abroad were taken by UK residents. 14,257 of these were inclusive tours or packages.
	There are no data for the number or proportion of package holidays sold by tour operators or airlines.

Rail Value for Money Review

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department expects to respond to the recommendations of the McNulty report.

Theresa Villiers: The Department's Business Plan sets out that the Government will outline their detailed proposals for the delivery of a sustainable railway before the end of the year.

Railways: Rolling Stock

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will discuss with Arriva Trains the provision of new rolling-stock and additional carriages on Gloucester to Maesteg passenger rail services.

Theresa Villiers: Under the Welsh rail devolution arrangements, the Welsh Government are responsible for the management of this route within the Arriva Trains Wales (‘ATW’) franchise.

Rescue Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with EU officials on the UK Coastguards; and what his policy is on the EU adopting a greater role in the control of the UK Coastguard.

Michael Penning: I have had no discussions with EU officials about the EU adopting a greater role in the control of Her Majesty's Coastguard.
	Her Majesty's Coastguard has a long and proud history and has a worldwide reputation for excellence. It already has excellent co-operative arrangements with its neighbours that would not be enhanced by the existence of a pan-European body. Such a body would also be likely to entail unnecessary bureaucracy and cost.
	The Government have consistently opposed the idea of an EU Coastguard and will continue to do so.

Thameslink Railway Line: Rolling Stock

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he made of the ability to deliver the technical requirements of the Thameslink Rolling Stock Project when awarding preferred bidder status.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 12 October 2011
	The evaluation criteria and evaluation process used to assess the ability of a bidder to deliver the technical requirements of the Thameslink Rolling Stock Project are contained in the project’s Invitation to Tender dated 27 November 2008. A copy is available on the DFT website.
	The Department, in conjunction with industry experts and appropriately skilled and experienced technical advisers, assessed each bid against these criteria.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Aviation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which travel management companies his Department uses for the purchase of airline tickets.

Owen Paterson: The Northern Ireland Office uses one travel management company to purchase airline tickets. This company is called Knock Travel and is based in Belfast.

PRIME MINISTER

Departmental Art Works

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister what the cost to the public purse was of installing the artwork donated by Tracey Emin in Number 10 Downing street.

David Cameron: There was no cost to the public purse for the installation of the artwork donated by Tracey Emin.

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMISSION

National Audit Office

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission what recent assessment the Public Accounts Commission has made of the efficiency with which the National Audit Office is run.

Edward Leigh: In November 2010 the National Audit Office presented its Strategy for the period 2011-12 to 2013-14 to the Commission. The Strategy included plans to cut the annual funding required in support of NAO activities by 15% in net terms. The Commission explored the basis of these proposals in depth with senior officials from the NAO and sought to satisfy itself that the strategy would achieve the right balance between maintaining the quality of the audit service provided to Parliament and seeking maximum efficiency in the delivery of this service.
	The Commission returned to the subject of the National Audit Office's operational efficiency in March 2011 when it met to approve the National Audit Office estimate for 2011-12 and to consider a value for money report from the external auditors to the National Audit Office on “A review of Corporate Support Costs”. This report provided the Commission with an independent assessment of the work being done to secure efficiencies in corporate support functions within the National Audit Office in support of the key performance target of devoting at least 80% of its resources to front-line activities.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

ICT: Theft

Tom Watson: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many (a) computers and (b) mobile telephones have been reported stolen from the parliamentary estate in the last 12 months.

John Thurso: The number of computers and mobile telephones that have been reported stolen from the Commons part of the parliamentary estate in the last 12 months (October 2010 to October 2011) are as follows:
	
		
			  Phones Computers 
			 2010   
			 October 0 0 
			 November 1 0 
			 December 1 0 
			    
			 2011   
			 January 0 4 
			 February 0 1 
			 March 0 1 
			 April 0 6 
			 May 3 10 
			 June 0 1 
			 July 1 1 
			 August 0 0 
			 September 0 1 
			 October 0 0 
			 Total 6 25 
		
	
	The House authorities and the Metropolitan police have jointly implemented a crime prevention plan, including strong advice to lock up valuable items and to lock office doors at the end of the working day. Nightly security patrols in both Houses report exceptions, which are followed up by the Serjeant at Arms. During these patrols any offices found insecure are now locked.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Abdel Fattah Younis

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of investigations into the death of General Abdel Fattah Younis in Libya.

William Hague: The Libyan National Transitional Council condemned the killing of General Younis swiftly and emphatically, and announced a full investigation if the results of the initial investigation raised serious concerns about events leading up to his assassination and led to changes in the NTC Executive Committee. To date we are aware of two arrests as a result of a criminal investigation, which remains ongoing.

Al-Qaeda

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the strength of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in (a) Morocco, (b) Algeria, (c) Tunisia, (d) Libya and (e) Egypt.

William Hague: Historically al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb's main focus has been Algeria, but they have also conducted attacks in Tunisia. AQ-M retain the intent to conduct attacks in Morocco and Libya. They have not conducted or attempted to conduct any attacks in Egypt although there is a high threat from terrorism throughout Egypt, including in Sinai.
	We are working with international partners and governments in the region to counter the threat from AQ-M and other terrorist groups to ensure they are not able to operate freely and exploit instability to conduct attacks.

Belarus: Human Rights

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps his Department has taken to raise human rights issues with the authorities in Belarus.

William Hague: The UK remains at the forefront of efforts within the EU and the wider international community to maintain political pressure on the Belarusian authorities and urge them to adhere to their human rights obligations. We have been working with EU partners to strengthen sanctions against the regime and its backers in an effort to promote positive developments. We believe these efforts have had some effect, as the regime has now released all but seven political prisoners.
	We have continued to maintain the pressure in other ways. The Minister for Europe, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), released statements on 6 August and 28 September to call for all political prisoners to be released and rehabilitated immediately. He also called for prisoners to be treated humanely. In a statement at the UN Human Rights Council on 21 September, the UK called for Belarus to end politically motivated harassment and intimidation, conduct a thorough and credible investigation into the allegations of degrading treatment against prisoners and establish a formal moratorium on executions.
	In August, the Department co-ordinated a joint letter by 10 EU Ministers of Justice to their Belarusian counterpart to protest about pressure on lawyers defending political prisoners.
	At the Eastern Partnership summit in Warsaw on 29 and 30 September, we supported the strong EU statement on Belarus. In the margins of the summit, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Europe met Belarusian opposition figures and human rights defenders.
	Our embassy has remained active, observing several of the trials in relation to the violent aftermath of the 19 December presidential election, including those of several ex-Presidential candidates. It also observes protest demonstrations. It uses all appropriate opportunities to raise human rights issues with government officials.

China: Animal Welfare

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the Chinese Government on standards of animal welfare in fur farms in that country.

Jeremy Browne: I have not raised the standards of animal welfare in fur farms in China with the Chinese Government. However the Government are supportive of work to raise standards of animal welfare at home and overseas. Where appropriate, we support co-ordinated action to promote standards internationally. The UK has been fully supportive of an EU-wide ban on the import, export and sale of domestic cat and dog fur and products containing such fur.
	We also welcome the work that non-governmental organisations such as Animals Asia Foundation, the International Fund for Animal Welfare and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals undertake with the Chinese authorities to improve standards of animal welfare in China.

China: Intellectual Property

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the protection of intellectual property in China.

William Hague: I discuss China regularly with my EU counterparts, most recently at the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg on 10 October. The protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in China is a priority for the UK.
	Ahead of the EU-China summit on 25 October, my officials have held discussions with the EU and fellow member states on enhancing EU-China trade and addressing market barriers, including strengthening IPR in China. In particular, the UK would like China to ensure that there is effective and consistent enforcement of IPR across the country. Officials at our embassy in Beijing co-ordinate closely with EU colleagues on IPR issues.

Columbia: Armed Conflict

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support his Department plans to provide to women's organisations and human rights activists in relation to the armed conflict in Colombia in each of the next four financial years.

Jeremy Browne: Our embassy in Bogota has a wide-ranging and active programme of support for human rights defenders. This includes individuals and groups, including women's organisations. We visit groups to show our visible support and regularly raise our concerns with the Colombian Government.
	We fund specific projects through our Human Rights and Democracy Fund. These funds are allocated according to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's human rights priorities each year. The level of support the UK Government will provide in each of the next four financial years has not yet been decided. This year, the UK Government funded four projects totalling approximately £322,647. This included the development of a public policy on the protection of human rights defenders.

Columbia: Armed Conflict

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the government of Colombia on crimes of sexual violence against women and children during the armed conflict in that country.

Jeremy Browne: The Government condemn all forms of violence against women and children.
	We regularly call on the Colombian authorities to investigate human rights abuses fully and to take the necessary steps to protect those at risk including women and children.

Columbia: Politics and Government

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of Colombia on the progress made in investigating (a) the death of Antonio Mendoza Morales and (b) threats made against other members of the National Victims' Movement.

Jeremy Browne: We have not to date made representations to the Colombian Government about this case. A Mr Jaider Ortega Jimenez has been arrested by the Colombian police and charged with the murder of Mr Antonio Mendoza Morales. Our embassy in Bogota will continue to monitor the progress of the trial and raise any concerns with the Colombian Government should it prove necessary.
	Officials at our embassy in Bogota have made several representations to the Head of the Presidential Programme on Human Rights and International Law in the cases of members of the National Victims' Movement. We will continue to raise our concerns with senior members of the Colombian Government.

Libya: Females

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with members of the National Transitional Council of Libya on the inclusion of women in decision-making processes.

Alistair Burt: Both the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), have stressed to the National Transitional Council (NTC) the importance of creating an inclusive political system and Libyan society that brings in all sections of the Libyan population, including women. British officials have discussed this with the NTC representative for Women's Issues, Dr Salwa al-Daghaili, and have also engaged with the NTC on plans for building a strong civil society.

Libya: Females

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how his Department plans to support the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in Libya.

Alistair Burt: The Government are committed to its obligations under UNSCR 1325. We recognise the role played by Libyan women in supporting the revolution, and their participation and leadership within civil society more broadly. The UK is engaging with women across Libyan society to determine how best to provide support. We are also working closely with the EU to assess what support the international community can provide on this issue.

South China Sea: Politics and Government

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the extent of potential threats to regional political stability arising from different territorial claims in the South China sea.

William Hague: The South China sea is a vital global trade artery. The UK has a strong interest in the maintenance of stability and freedom of navigation in the region. We encourage all parties to resolve their territorial disputes peacefully, in line with international law. We call on all parties to show restraint and abide by international norms for the safe conduct of vessels at sea.

Syria: Diplomatic Service

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what occasions he has had discussions with the Syrian ambassador on the activities of his diplomatic staff in relation to meetings with the diaspora.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), has not discussed Syrian embassy activities with the Syrian ambassador.
	On 28 June the Syrian ambassador was invited in to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office where FCO officials made clear our strong concerns about allegations that a diplomat at the Syrian embassy had been intimidating Syrians in Britain. The message was clear, that any such activity would amount to a clear breach of acceptable behaviour and if such claims were substantiated, we would respond swiftly and appropriately.

Syria: Sanctions

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of sanctions on Syria.

William Hague: Sanctions imposed by the EU on Syria are aimed at putting pressure on President Assad and his regime to stop the killings and repression of the Syrian people, and allow for their legitimate aspirations to be met. These sanctions have also set pace for action in the wider international community. The recent decision by the EU to impose a ban on the purchase, import or transport from Syria of crude oil and petroleum products, where the EU previously imported well over 90% of Syria's crude oil, has deprived the Syrian regime of a major income stream to help fund its repression.
	Sanctions are not aimed at the Syrian people but at those responsible for the regime's violent repression. They are also aimed at those who support or benefit from the regime's violence: these people must recognise the consequences of their actions and step away from the regime.

Yemen: Foreign Relations

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the next Friends of Yemen meeting will be held.

Alistair Burt: The last Friends of Yemen meeting scheduled for March 2011 in Riyadh was rightly postponed at the request of the Government of Yemen, in light of the political impasse and violence on the streets. Our focus now is on helping Yemen achieve stability through a political transition in line with the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative. Once this has been agreed and implementation has begun, I consider there will once again be a role for the group in assisting Yemen to restructure and reform to address its social, economic, security and development needs.

Yemen: UN Resolutions

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on a possible UN resolution on the situation in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: The humanitarian, economic and security situations in Yemen continue to deteriorate as President Saleh fails to agree formally the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative to enact political transition. We have for months discussed with international partners what more we can do to resolve the political impasse, and a UN Security Council Resolution is one option.

TREASURY

Andy Coulson

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what advice he provided to the Prime Minister on the appointment of Mr Andy Coulson as Director of Communications at 10 Downing street; and if he will make a statement.

Justine Greening: holding answer 5 September 2011
	Treasury Ministers hold regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a wide range of issues. As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such discussions.

Andy Coulson

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many conversations he has had with Mr Andy Coulson since 20 January 2011.

Justine Greening: holding answer 5 September 2011
	HM Treasury does not hold this information. Mr Coulson has resigned from his position as the Prime Minister's Director of Communications and Planning.

Departmental Responsibilities

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider keeping data on the number of times (a) he and (b) officials of his Department have declined a request for a meeting from an hon. Member of each political party.

Justine Greening: It would not be proportionate to do so.

Dorneywood

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a list of visitors he has hosted at Dorneywood who have received Government hospitality.

Justine Greening: Cabinet Ministers have published their meetings with media editors, proprietors and senior executives since the general election and these will in future be published quarterly.
	Details of meetings are published on the Treasury website:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/transparency_chx _meetings_with_media_260711.pdf
	A list of guests who have received official hospitality at Dorneywood during 2010-11 will be published in the usual way.

Equitable Life Assurance Society

David Winnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to make it easier for eligible policy holders to contact the Equitable Life Payment Scheme;
	(2)  how long it takes on average to answer calls to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme enquiry line;
	(3)  what steps he is taking to ensure telephone calls to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme are answered.

Mark Hoban: The Equitable Life Payment Scheme can be contacted via telephone, e-mail and post. In addition an extensive website has been established to answer policyholder's frequently asked questions. The average time that a caller has to wait before their call is answered by the Equitable Life Payment Scheme enquiry line is six seconds. This is in line with the service level agreement with NS&I that 90% of calls to the line are answered within 20 seconds.

Households

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households are in each council tax band in each (a) local authority and (b) parliamentary constituency.

David Gauke: The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) publishes counts of dwellings by council tax band for each local authority in England and Wales on a quarterly basis. Figures for the end of June 2011 can be found on the VOA website in the following location:
	http://www.voa.gov.uk/corporate/statisticalReleases/110714_CouncilTaxValuationListSummary.html
	This publication will be updated on 13 October 2011 to include statistics for the end September 2011.
	The VOA intends to publish equivalent Official Statistics for each parliamentary constituency from April 2012. Details of this release and other statistical releases will be made available via the Statistics Releases timetable on the VOA website at the following location:
	http://www.voa.gov.uk/corporate/publications/statistical ReleaseTimetable.html

Job Creation: Private Sector

Frank Dobson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the increase in private sector jobs was represented by the contracting out of former public sector jobs in each of the last three quarters.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated October 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what proportion of the increase in private sector jobs was represented by the contracting out of former public sector jobs in each of the last three quarters. 73403
	I regret that the requested information is not available from any of the sources used for official labour market statistics.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter of 8 September 2011 from the hon. Member for Walsall North, reference 1/94542/2011.

Justine Greening: I replied to the hon. Member on 11 October 2011.

Neil Wallis

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  whether (a) he, (b) his private office staff, (c) his special advisers and (d) press officers in his Department had contact by (i) telephone and (ii) email with Neil Wallis in (A) 2010 and (B) 2011;
	(2)  what communications (a) he, (b) other Ministers in his Department, (c) officials in his private office and (d) (i) press officers, (ii) other officials and (iii) special advisers of his Department have had by (A) e-mail, (B) meeting, (C) telephone call and (D) letter with Neil Wallis since his appointment; and on what dates.

Justine Greening: holding answer 5 September 2011
	Records of the Treasury's phone calls, meetings, emails and other correspondence is not held centrally. Cabinet Ministers have published their meetings with media editors, proprietors and senior executives since the general election and these will in future be published quarterly.
	Details of meetings are published on the Treasury website:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/transparency_chx _meetings_with_media_260711.pdf
	Permanent Secretaries and special advisers meetings with newspaper and other media proprietors, editors and senior executives will also now be published on a quarterly basis.

News International

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met (a) James Murdoch, (b) Rebekah Brooks and (c) Andy Coulson.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a list of all meetings he has had with (a) proprietors, (b) senior executives and (c) editors of media organisations since his appointment.

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date and at what venue he has met (a) executives of, (b) other representatives of and (c) journalists working for News International since his appointment.

Justine Greening: Unlike the previous Government, Cabinet Ministers have published their meetings with media editors, proprietors and senior executives since the general election and these will in future be published quarterly.
	Details of meetings are published on the Treasury website:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/transparency_chx _meetings_with_media_260711.pdf

Working Tax Credit

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) transitional arrangements and (b) additional services will be put in place for couples with children who work between 16 and 24 hours a week and will lose their entitlement to working tax credit unless they increase their hours of work to over 24 hours a week.

David Gauke: Couples with children will continue to qualify for working tax credit where at least one member of a couple works at least 16 hours per week and that person is eligible for the working tax credit disability element or is aged 60 or over.
	Couples with children where one partner is being paid a carer's allowance as a full time carer of their partner will also continue to qualify where working 16 hours or more a week.
	Couples with children may also qualify for working tax credit if one member of a couple works at least 16 hours a week and a qualifying sickness or disability benefit, for example, incapacity benefit is payable for the other.
	HMRC is not planning to make any transitional arrangements or provide additional services for couples with children who may lose entitlement to working tax credit as a result of the change to the working hours conditions in April 2012.
	HMRC will be writing to those who may be affected before the end of this year to advise them of the change and what they need to do if they wish to continue to qualify for working tax credit.

EDUCATION

Vocational Guidance

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what procedures are in place to monitor local authorities' levels of compliance with their statutory duty to provide careers guidance; what recent estimate he has made of the rate of compliance by local authorities; and what steps he will take to ensure that local authorities perform their statutory duty.

John Hayes: holding answer 14 September 2011
	Local authorities retain a responsibility to encourage, enable and assist young people's participation in education or training, under section 68 of the Education and Skills Act 2008. There is no statutory duty on local authorities to provide careers guidance but given their duty to support young people to participate, many do so as the best means of meeting that duty. In advance of the new duty coming into force which will give schools responsibility for securing access to independent careers guidance, the Early Intervention Grant supports local authorities' transitional responsibilities for careers guidance and their ongoing role in supporting young people not in education, employment or training to participate.
	The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), has powers to intervene if a local authority is failing to meet its statutory duties. Any case for intervention will be based on clear evidence of outcomes demonstrating the extent to which young people in an area are participating in education or training, rather than specific inputs such as the way youth support services are organised.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Departmental Manpower

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff in his Department work in roles relating to policy on (a) regeneration and (b) local democracy.

Bob Neill: All civil servants are employed to provide impartial advice to Ministers and the Department's staff work flexibly and are often deployed on a number of different policies, programmes or projects at the same time. As at the end of August 109 staff worked in the Local Government, Policy and Productivity Directorate and 280 in the Local Economy, Regeneration and European Programmes Directorate including 204 staff who are involved in the direct delivery of European Regional Development Fund programmes.
	Staff in these two Directorates are the most closely associated with the Department's regeneration and local democracy work but not all are deployed on those areas and some only partially so. There are other staff from different Directorates who are flexibly deployed for a short time to these areas or whose work, while not primarily focussed on either, also support the Department's efforts.
	These figures include a number of staff who will leave the Department's employment by October 2012 due to internal restructuring.

Enterprise Zones

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of jobs that will be created by enterprise zones in the next period for which figures are available.

Greg Clark: According to estimates made by the relevant local enterprise partnerships, the 11 successful enterprise zones announced in the recent competition expect to create over 30,000 new jobs by 2015.

Freedom of Information

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2011, Official Report, column 1124W, on freedom of information, if he will place in the Library a copy of the archived Government Procurement Card invoices and spending records for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Bob Neill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister became a separate Department in May 2002 and existed until May 2006 when it was reformed as the Department of Communities and Local Government.
	Records of Government Procurement Card invoices and spending records are not available from May 2002 to March 2004. The Department does hold Government Procurement Card spending (transaction) records from April 2004 until April 2006, but as was explained in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Dover (Charlie Elphicke), on 11 July 2011, Official Report, column 57W, these records were contaminated by cloned cards.
	These records have now been placed in the Library of the House.
	The fraudulent (cloned) transactions are shown as credits back to the account but with the lapse of time it is no longer possible to cross check these records against invoice and investigation records kept at the time. Identification and retrieval of actual invoices could be accomplished only at disproportionate cost.
	Please note that the records we hold were supplied by the Card issuing company (Barclays). The term ‘Merchant Category’ is a broad description employed by the banks to designate the business where the card was used not the type of product purchased.
	Departmental guidance is clear that any unauthorised or unknown transactions appearing on card transaction reports (invoices) such as cloned card incidents must be reported immediately to the card issuing company. Under the terms of the contract any financial loss arising from this type of fraudulent activity is the responsibility of the card issuing company who will take forward any investigation. There will be no threat/risk to departmental funds.
	My Department is committed to greater transparency over the use of the Government Procurement Card than under the last Administration, and has strengthened checks and balances to ensure protection of taxpayers' money.

Government Procurement Card

Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many Government Procurement Cards were compromised or cloned in each year (a) since the creation of his Department and (b) during the lifetime of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister; and what the estimated amount of fraudulent transactions was in each year.

Bob Neill: The number of Government Procurement Cards cancelled because they were compromised or used in external fraud (which would include cloned cards) are in the following table:
	
		
			  Calendar year Card compromised Card fraud Total 
			 (a) Department of Communities and Local Government 2011 1 2 3 
			  2010 3 1 4 
			  2009 0 5 5 
			  2008 3 2 5 
			  2007 0 2 2 
			  2006 0 3 3 
			      
			 (b) Office of the Deputy Prime Minister 2006 0 1 1 
			  2005 0 13 13 
		
	
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister existed from May 2002 until May 2006. No records of cancelled cards are held prior to 2005.
	Estimates of the amounts of fraudulent transactions are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Compromised cards are cards where there is a risk that the card number could become known to a third party. These cards are cancelled to prevent any fraudulent activity. Fraud occurs when the card is lost or stolen and is used by a third party. This would also include cases where the card number has been cloned.
	Government Procurement Card transaction records for the period 1 April 2004 to 30 April 2006 (when the Department was the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister) have now been deposited in the Library of the House as a response to PQ60994, answered on 13 October. Transaction records from April 2002 until March 2004 are no longer held.
	Departmental guidance is clear that any unauthorised or unknown transactions appearing on GPC transaction reports (invoices) such as cloned card incidents must be reported immediately to the card issuing company. Under the terms of the contract any financial loss arising from this type of fraudulent activity is the responsibility of the card issuing company who will take forward any investigation. There will be no threat/risk to departmental funds.

Government Procurement Card

Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Dover of 11 July 2011, Official Report, column 57W, on the Government Procurement Card, 
	(1)  whether any of the cards were used abroad for transactions before they were cloned; and whether the fraudulent usage included foreign expenditure on the cloned cards;
	(2)  whether the transactions made on cloned cards were reported to the police;
	(3)  which offices within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister had their Government Procurement Card cloned;
	(4)  what the estimated (a) number and (b) value was of transactions that were made on cloned cards during the time that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister existed.

Bob Neill: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Government Procurement Card transaction records for the period 1 April 2004 to 30 April 2006 (when the Department was the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister) have now been deposited in the Library of the House as a response to PQ60994 answered on 13 October. Transaction records from April 2002 until March 2004 are no longer held.
	Departmental guidance is clear that any unauthorised or unknown transactions appearing on Government Procurement Card transaction reports (invoices) such as cloned card incidents must be reported immediately to the card issuing company. Under the terms of the contract any financial loss arising from this type of fraudulent activity is the responsibility of the card issuing company who will take forward any investigation. There will be no threat/risk to departmental funds.

Green Belt

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to ensure that the green belt is protected from development; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: The coalition agreement committed the Government to maintaining green belt protection. National policy on green belt protection—in Planning Policy Guidance Note 2, Green Belts—is being updated as part of the National Planning Policy Framework, on which we are currently consulting. The draft framework includes rigorous policies for the continued protection of green belt from inappropriate development. Moreover, our proposed abolition of the unpopular regional strategies, through the Localism Bill, will remove top-down pressure on councils to review the extent of their green belt. This was likely to affect more than 30 areas across England. In addition, the draft new guidance on Traveller sites seeks to increase planning protection for the green belt.

Planning Permission

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated research into the cost of complying with planning regulations in the UK compared to other countries; and if he will place in the Library a copy of any such research.

Greg Clark: My Department seeks to take account of all relevant research when developing policy.

Planning Permission: Appeals

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what status an emergent local plan has in the determination of planning appeals; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, Section 38(6), requires that decisions on planning applications must be made in accordance with a council's development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
	It is clear from case law that plans that are in the course of preparation may be taken into account, under section 38(6), as a material consideration in making planning decisions. Paragraph 18 of The Planning System: General Principles 2005 sets out that account can be taken of policies in emerging development plan documents, but the weight to be attached depends upon the stage of the preparation or review, increasing as successive stages are reached. A decision maker can accord weight to an emerging plan, but the matter of weighting is for the decision maker.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Electoral Registration

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the introduction of individual electoral registration on the number of people registered to vote;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the change in the numbers of electors registered in the electoral register in (a) Livingston constituency and (b) Scotland following implementation of proposals for individual electoral registration.

Mark Harper: The Government are funding research to understand the current state of the electoral register which will help us to better understand the way in which the move to individual registration will have an impact.
	The Government will do everything they can to maintain the completeness of the electoral register. This includes phasing in the move to Individual Registration over two years so that people on the register who do not apply under the new system do not lose their vote at the 2015 General Election. Every eligible elector will be asked in 2014 to register under the new system: this will include personal invites to people on the register, inquiries to households where no one is registered or people have moved, reminder letters and face to face doorstep canvassers. There will also be a publicity campaign run by the Electoral Commission and we are testing data matching to identify people missing from the register and looking at how we can increase the choices people have over how to register, including greater use of online registration.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan: Reconstruction

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 8 September 2011, Official Report, column 768W, on Afghanistan: reconstruction, how much his Department spent in total on the (a) construction and (b) improvement of tarmac roads in Afghanistan from the start of military operations in 2001 to 2007.

Andrew Mitchell: Between 2001 and 2007 the Department provided £50 million in funding through multi-donor trust funds attributable to infrastructure development, in part to support the construction and improvement of tarmac roads in Afghanistan. It would not be possible to assess what proportion of these works consisted of tarmac roads, except at disproportionate cost.

Burma: Internally Displaced People

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department has had access to internally displaced people at the Kachin-China border; and whether his Department has provided food and medical assistance to those people.

Andrew Mitchell: Department for International Development (DFID) staff are in regular contact with United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with access to internally displaced people in Kachin State, Burma. DFID staff have not themselves had access to the China-Burma border. I have agreed that funding through the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and a humanitarian NGO already working in the area may be used to assist people displaced by recent conflict in Kachin State.

Burma: Overseas Aid

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will provide funding to the Kachin Women's Association Thailand for emergency relief in Kachin State, Burma.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department of International Development (DFID) has carefully considered a funding request from the Kachin Women's Association Thailand (KWAT) for emergency relief in Kachin State Burma. DFID staff have recently informed KWAT that we are not able to support this request. I have however agreed that funding through the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and a humanitarian non-governmental organisation already working in the area may be used to assist people displaced by recent conflict in Kachin State.

Burma: Politics and Government

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Kachin State, Burma since 9 June 2011.

Andrew Mitchell: Department for International Development (DFID) staff have been closely monitoring the humanitarian situation in Kachin State following the outbreak of conflict earlier this year. We are in contact with a number of organisations working in the affected areas, both from inside Burma and from across the border in China. We understand that as many as 20,000 people have been displaced by recent fighting. I have agreed that funding through the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and a humanitarian non-governmental organisation already working in the area may be used to assist displaced people in Kachin State.

Departmental Chief Scientific Advisers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the resource budget allocation was for the office of his Department's chief scientific adviser in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Alan Duncan: For financial years 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 the resource budget allocation for the Office of the DFID chief scientific adviser has been estimated at £123,000, £123,000 and £125,000 respectively. This does not include the cost of employing the Chief Scientific Adviser.
	For 2009-10, 2010-11 the resource budget allocation was £219,000 per year which does not include the cost of the Chief Scientific Adviser.

Departmental Chief Scientific Advisers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the salary, including benefits, was of his Department's chief scientific adviser in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and how many individuals have held the post in the last five years.

Alan Duncan: The Chief Scientific Adviser is a secondment into the civil service and is not paid directly by DFID. As a secondee the Chief Scientific Adviser stays on the same terms and conditions as the seconding institution, although DFID reimburses the seconding institution for this service.
	Two individuals have held this position in the last five years.

Departmental Chief Scientific Advisers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many full-time equivalent staff were employed in the office of his Department's chief scientific adviser in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and on what date the office was established.

Alan Duncan: In 2007 and 2008 two full-time equivalent staff were employed in this office in addition to the chief scientific adviser.
	In 2009, 2010 and 2011 3.3 full-time equivalent staff were employed in this office in addition to the chief scientific adviser.
	The office of the chief scientific adviser was established in DFID in January 2005.

Departmental Chief Scientific Advisers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his policy is on requiring his Department's (a) agencies and non-departmental public bodies and (b) contractors to have a written code of practice or protocol relating to the provision, conduct and quality assurance of scientific evidence and advice.

Andrew Mitchell: My Department is committed to handling science and engineering advice in accordance with the Government chief scientific adviser's “Guidelines on the use of science and engineering advice in policy making”,
	(a) We do not have any agencies or non-departmental public bodies.
	(b) We do not ask contractors to provide a written code of practice or protocol relating to the provision, conduct and quality assurance of scientific evidence and advice. However this comes through the technical evaluation of proposals and our contracts require providers to sign up to our terms and conditions which include general standard obligations to carry out the services with skill, diligence, efficiency, economy and to satisfy accepted professional standards. DFID's terms and conditions are more specific on personnel standards (this extends to sub-contractors), data management, corruption policy, conflict of interest, discrimination and environmental standards. For quality assurance we request peer review of proposals and outputs during commissioning of research, at annual monitoring and evaluation reviews and at completion of the contract. All published research is also peer reviewed.

Fossil Fuels

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his policy is on provision of support from his Department's private sector department for companies involved in dirty fossil fuel energy production.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development's (DFID) support for energy projects, whether through the public or private sectors, is based on a central premise of a presumption away from coal and that all cleaner forms of energy are thoroughly considered before concluding that coal is an option. Were a fossil fuel project to be considered, DFID would also ensure that there is compelling poverty reduction rationale; that the best available and appropriate technology is used; that every effort to reduce emissions is made and that; there is an assessment of the technical and economic feasibility for CCS readiness.

CABINET OFFICE

Departmental Fines

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many transport-related fines his Department has settled on behalf of its staff and at what cost in each year since 2007.

Francis Maude: The Cabinet Office expects its staff to abide by the law when travelling on official business. If a member of staff broke the law (for example by parking illegally, exceeding the speed limit, using a mobile phone when driving) they would be obliged to pay any fine themselves. The Department's policy makes it clear that managers must not reimburse any costs associated with breaking the law.

Departmental Procurement

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that companies providing services to the Government are not adversely affected by price fluctuation indices created by the Office of National Statistics.

Francis Maude: As Government contracts are openly competed, it is normal practice that any risk arising from price fluctuations is borne by the supplier.
	For projects where base material and other prices are highly volatile, it would be logical for there to be discussions involving client, designers and (potential) suppliers at an early stage to address the risks and decide on any necessary contractual provisions.

Government Procurement Card

Chris Kelly: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many Government Procurement Card transactions were made by his Department's officials withdrawing cash from automated teller machines from 2006-07 to 2009-10; at what cost; and on which dates.

Francis Maude: From 2006-07 to 2009-10 there are no records held centrally of any cash withdrawals in the Department.

Public Sector: Mutual Societies

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many letters on public service mutuals he has received in each month since 1 June 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Francis Maude: The information requested is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Public Sector: Mutual Societies

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what meetings he has had in his Department with (a) voluntary sector organisations and (b) those interested in public service mutuals policy in each month since 1 June 2011.

Nick Hurd: Details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations are published on a quarterly basis. Information for meetings since 1 June 2011 will be published in due course.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what work his Department commissioned from civil society organisations in each month since June 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: The Cabinet Office does not hold a central record of work commissioned from civil society organisations. The Office for Civil Society works very closely with this sector and the following table summarises recent work they have commissioned.
	
		
			  Details of work commissioned 
			 2010  
			 August Care and Share Associates, Sunderland Home Care Associates, GLL, and Lord Adebowale from Turning Point announced as providers of pro bono mentoring support to a series of Mutual Pathfinders. The precise form and focus of the mentoring is agreed between the mentor and the pathfinder, rather than being directly commissioned through Cabinet Office. 
			   
			 2011  
			 February Locality appointed to deliver the Community Organisers programme. 
			  V and Catch 22—To jointly lead a project on volunteering with and to support children and young people. 
			  Innovation Unit, Mutual Ventures, the Cooperative College and FosterCare Cooperative announced as providers of pro bono mentoring support to a series of Mutual Pathfinders as described above. 
			   
			 March OCS appointed nine strategic partners to represent the VCSE sector to Government and vice versa, and to support the development and delivery of Big Society. The partners are: ACEVO in partnership with Euclid Network and New Philanthropy Capital; Community Foundation Network in partnership with Association of Charitable Foundations; Institute of Fundraising; Locality; NAVCA; NCVO; Social Entrepreneurship Partnership; Social Enterprise UK in partnership with Cooperatives UK; Volunteering England. 
			   
			 April Volunteering England—To lead on sharing learning from other projects with the wider voluntary and community sector. 
			  Age UK—To lead a project on volunteering in health and social care. 
			  Arts and Business—To lead a project on volunteering in Culture and the Arts. 
			  Groundwork West Midlands—To lead a project on volunteering in relation to the environment. 
			  Youthnet appointed to run the Do-it volunteering database. 
			   
			 May Volunteering England—To lead a project on Employer Supported Volunteering. 
			  Volunteer Centre Warrington—To lead a project on Volunteer Management. 
			  Attend—To lead a project on opening the door to volunteering to under-represented groups. 
			  Sir Ronald Cohen and Nick O'Donohoe, acting as independent advisers to Government on the Big Society Bank, put forward an outline proposal for Big Society Capital that was accepted by Government on 9 May. 
			   
			 June Sports Coach UK—To lead a project on volunteering in sport. 
			  Community Development Foundation appointed to deliver the Community First programme. 
			   
			 August Community Matters has been commissioned to report on what Big Society means for the groups it represents. 
			  Voice4Change England has been commissioned to report on what Big Society means for the groups it represents. 
			  Women's Resource Centre has been commissioned to report on what Big Society means for the groups it represents. 
			  Research commissioned from National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) titled “Study of the causes of youth involvement in the riots August 2011”. 
			   
		
	
	
		
			 September Community Service Volunteers—To lead on the launch of the European Year Tour. 
			  Nesta appointed to run the Innovation in Giving Fund. 
			   
			 October Urban Forum has been commissioned to report on what Big Society means for the groups it represents. 
			  12 grants awarded to civil society organisations for the provision of National Citizen Service pilots. 
			  Social Investment Business appointed to run the Social Action Fund.

Voluntary Organisations

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what visits to voluntary sector organisations (a) he, (b) Ministers and (c) senior officials in his Department have made in each month since 1 June 2011; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: I and my officials frequently visit voluntary sector organisations across all regions of the country. I also host regular meetings with various organisations as well as continuing the practice of inviting all MPs to bring local voluntary sector organisations to the Cabinet Office for meetings. Since 1 June 2011, I have visited over 20 such organisations in the UK.

Voluntary Organisations: Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many letters on funding of the voluntary sector he has received in each month since 1 June 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: The information requested is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Voluntary Work

Mark Menzies: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps his Department is taking to encourage people to become community organisers and activists.

Nick Hurd: Locality, the National Partner appointed by Government to deliver the Community Organisers Programme has a key role in raising awareness about the opportunities this programme presents. Locality has ensured that the host organisations are using a consistent job description and process across England to recruit the senior community organisers locally. They have used:
	Local press
	Internet
	Word of mouth
	Existing networks and contacts
	Small open events.
	Overall, over 1,000 people applied for the role of a senior community organiser for the first tranche, from which 47 were selected.
	Nationally, the programme's opportunities have also been disseminated via Locality's and Community Development Foundation's networks.
	As part of the work of the senior community organisers, they will over time identify and recruit local volunteer organisers.
	To find out more about the programme, please visit:
	http://www.cocollaborative.org.uk/

DEFENCE

Armed Forces

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the (a) service, (b) location and (c) strength is of each military band.

Peter Luff: holding answer 12 October 2011
	The following table lists the number of bands by service, location and strength:
	
		
			 Band name Location Strength 
			 Naval Service   
			 The Band HM Royal Marines Portsmouth 66 
			 The Band HM Royal Marines Plymouth 56 
			 The Band HM Royal Marines Collingwood 57 
			 The Band HM Royal Marines Commando Training Centre Lympstone 50 
			 The. Band HM Royal Marines Scotland Rosyth 49 
			    
			 Army   
			 The Band of the Life Guards London 31 
			 The Band of the Blues and Royals Windsor 29 
			 The Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band Catterick 29 
			 The Light Cavalry Band Bovington 29 
			 The Royal Artillery Band Woolwich 42 
			 The Band of the Corps of Royal Engineers Chatham 27 
			 The Band of the Royal Corps of Signals Blandford Forum 27 
			 Band of the Grenadier Guards London 40 
			 Band of the Coldstream Guards London 40 
			 Band of the Scots Guards London 38 
			 Band of the Irish Guards London 37 
			 Band of the Welsh Guards London 40 
			 The Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland Edinburgh 29 
			 The Minden Band of the Queen's Division Cambridge 27 
			 The Band of the King's Division Preston 30 
			 The Band of the Prince of Wales' Division Tidworth 28 
			 The Band and Bugles of the Rifles Winchester 29 
			 The Band of the Parachute Regiment Colchester 28 
			 The Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas Shorncliffe (1)— 
			 The Band of the Army Air Corps Middle Wallop 28 
			 The Band of the Royal Logistic Corps Camberley 28 
			 The Band of the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Arborfield 28 
			 The Band of the Adjutant General's Corps Worthy Down 26 
			 The Army Big Band Twickenham (2)33 
			 British Army Brass Band Twickenham (2)35 
			 Corps of Army Music Sinfonietta Twickenham (2)24 
			 The Honourable Artillery Company Band London (2)14 
		
	
	
		
			 The Band of the Royal Yeomanry London (2)27 
			 The Lancashire Artillery Volunteers Band Bolton (2)27 
			 The Nottinghamshire Band of the Royal Engineers Nottingham (2)31 
			 The Royal Signals (Northern) Band Darlington (2)29 
			 The Lowland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland Edinburgh (2)30 
			 The Highland Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland Perth (2)29 
			 The Band of the Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment Canterbury (2)33 
			 The Band of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment Liverpool (2)19 
			 The Band of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Newcastle-upon-Tyne (2)21 
			 The Band of the Royal Anglian Regiment Peterborough (2)19 
			 The Band of the Yorkshire Regiment Huddersfield (2)21 
			 The Band of the Mercian Regiment Wolverhampton (2)34 
			 The Band of the Royal Welsh Gwent (2)36 
			 The Salamanca Band of the Rifles Exeter (2)22 
			 The Waterloo Band of the Rifles Abingdon (2)30 
			 The Band of the Royal Irish Regiment Holyrood (3)1 
			   (2)24 
			 The Band of the 150th (Yorkshire) Transport Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps (Volunteers) Kingston Upon Hull (2)31 
			 Army Medical Services Band Camberley 29 
			 The Volunteer Band of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment Gibraltar 29 
			    
			 Royal Air Force   
			 The Central Band of the Royal Air Force Northolt 81 
			 The Band of the Royal Air Force College Sleaford 37 
			 The Band of the Royal Air Force Regiment Sleaford 39 
			 (1) One UKTAP plus 34 Gurkhas. (2) Territorial Army. (3 )UKTAP denotes United Kingdom Trained Adult Personnel.

Armed Forces: Helicopters

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effects of the marinisation of Merlin helicopters on RAF Benson; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the implications of marinisation of Merlin helicopters for their capacity to fly hot and high; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what assessment his Department has made of the implications of marinisation for the weight of Merlin helicopters; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  how many Merlin helicopters have been selected for marinisation; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the marinisation of the Merlin helicopter; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence is currently exploring options as part of the concept phase for the Merlin Life sustainment programme. It is therefore too early in the programme to be able to confirm details regarding cost, scope and aircraft weight and performance.
	The implications of future helicopter plans for RAF Benson will be better understood upon conclusion of the Defence rotary wing capability study, which is expected towards the end of this year.

Armed Forces: Northern Ireland

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost of providing military security in Northern Ireland was in (a) 1997 and (b) the most recent year for which figures are available (i) in cash terms, (ii) in current prices and (iii) as a percentage of the UK's total defence expenditure.

Nick Harvey: For the purposes of answering this question the cost of providing military security has been interpreted to mean the costs of maintaining a military presence in the Province.
	The data requested are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial year Cash outturn (£ million) Current prices (£ million) Percentage of total outturn 
			 1997-98 508 696 (1)2.3 
			 2010-11 69 69 (2)0.2 
			 (1) Departmental Outturn for 1997-98—£21,517 million. (2) Departmental Outturn for 2010-11—£39,461 million. 
		
	
	The reduction in expenditure is a result of the reduction in the military presence in Northern Ireland after the end of Operation Banner in 2007.

Armed Forces: Young People

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to encourage young people to join (a) the Army Cadet Force and (b) the Combined Cadet Force.

Peter Luff: There are a number of initiatives at national, regional and local levels which encourage young people to join their local cadet unit. These include websites for each of the Cadet Forces, activity on social networking websites and recruiting events in local communities. However, the best recruiting tool is the enthusiasm of cadets themselves, encouraging their friends to join so they can take part in the exciting and challenging programmes our Cadet Forces offer. In the case of the Combined Cadet Force, the head teacher's support is key and we bolster this support through regular briefings and our work with the Combined Cadet Force Associations. Furthermore, last summer the Minister for Defence Personnel Welfare and Veterans, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Leicestershire (Mr Robathan), commissioned a review into Defence's Youth Engagement activities which will include related issues.

Arms Trade: Exports

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost of (a) Ministers and (b) Royal Air Force personnel promoting defence exports has been in the last 12 months.

Gerald Howarth: holding answer 12 October 2011
	Ministers support defence and security exports through an active and innovative defence diplomacy initiative. Details of all ministerial visits overseas are published online quarterly under Ministerial Overseas Travel at the following website:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/FinancialReports/Expenses/
	The website details the purpose of the visit along with the cost. Visits are not always for export purposes, however Ministers travelling overseas will promote defence and security exports wherever appropriate. Support to defence exports is enshrined in Military Tasks and is an important part of the RAF Engagement Strategy.
	The RAF has traditionally provided participation at defence trade exhibits and airshows alongside briefings and demonstrations on request from the UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation (UKTI DSO) on an ad hoc basis and does not keep records of these services as a distinct activity.

Libya: Armed Conflict

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of military operations in Libya since the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1973.

Liam Fox: I refer the hon. Member to the statement I made on 12 October 2011, Official Report, column 30WS.

Planning Permission: Sevenoaks

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assurances he sought regarding future planning use prior to the disposal of Chelsfield Ammunition Depot at Badgers Mount, Sevenoaks.

Peter Luff: holding answer 12 October 2011
	As a result of inquiries to the local planning authority a statement was included in the marketing particulars for the Chelsfield site. This read:
	“The site is located within the greenbelt and there will be a presumption against redevelopment. Sevenoaks District Council has verbally informed GVA Grimley [MOD's commercial disposal agents] that the site has a Sui Generis [unique] use class. Further planning enquiries should be made of Sevenoaks District Council.”

Reserve Forces: Teachers

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of reservists are members of the teaching profession.

Peter Luff: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcoholic Drinks: Prices

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the (a) number of units and (b) monetary value of alcohol sold at a price below duty plus VAT in the last year.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 12 October 2011
	The Impact Assessment on banning the sale of alcohol below the cost of duty VAT will be published by the Home Office later in the autumn. The Impact Assessment estimates the costs and benefits of a duty plus VAT policy as well as the estimated reduction in alcohol consumption and alcohol related hospital admissions and violent incidents.

Asylum

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assistance her Department provides to Sri Lankan nationals who have not been successful in a UK asylum application and have been deported to Sri Lanka.

Damian Green: We prefer individuals who have no right to remain in the UK to leave voluntarily. The UK Border Agency operates assisted voluntary return schemes, administered by Refugee Action's Choices service, which provide various reintegration assistance packages to help individuals and families to return home with dignity and support.
	For charter flight operations we currently make a small discretionary payment to enable returnees to travel to their home town or village. We also ensure that a UK Government representative is present at the airport.

Asylum

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications from Sri Lankan nationals have been (a) granted and (b) refused in each of the last 10 years.

Damian Green: The number of asylum applications, excluding dependants, from nationals of Sri Lanka that have been (a) granted asylum on initial decisions and (b) refused asylum on initial decisions are provided as follows:
	
		
			 Asylum applications and initial decisions  (1, 2, 3)   for main applicants, nationals of Sri Lanka 
			 Principal applicants 
			  Total applications Total initial decisions Total grants Grants of asylum Grants of HP Grants of DL Grants of ELR Total refusals Total withdrawals 
			 2001 5,511 10,350 1,979 1,441 — — 538 8,371 59 
			 2002 3,131 4,284 615 338 — — 277 3,669 29 
			 2003 705 1,472 117 18 0 44 55 1,355 33 
			 2004 332 721 98 10 1 87 — 623 63 
			 2005 396 518 64 6 0 58 — 454 147 
			 2006 525 431 62 5 0 57 — 369 71 
			 2007 988 936 124 67 2 55 — 812 16 
			 2008 1,473 874 206 146 1 59 — 668 55 
			 2009 1,115 1,251 190 133 1 56 — 1,061 55 
			 2010 1,357 1,612 228 186 0 42 — 1,384 61 
			 (1 )2009 and 2010 figures are provisional. (2) Initial decisions do not necessarily relate to applications made in the same period and exclude the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions. (3) Humanitarian protection (HP) and discretionary leave (DL) replaced exceptional leave to remain (ELR) from 1 April 2003. 
		
	
	These data were published in Table as.01 of Immigration Statistics: April-June 2011. Further information on asylum application outcomes is available from the Immigration Statistics release available in the Library of the House and the Home Office Science website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/migration/migration-statistics1/

Asylum

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many outstanding asylum cases under the legacy programme there were as of 1 September 2011.

Damian Green: The agency completed its review of all cases in the legacy cohort at the end of March 2011. A total of 500,500 cases were reviewed as part of the programme and as Jonathan Sedgwick reported to the Home Affairs Committee on 12 September, the majority (479,000) have been fully concluded.
	The UK Border Agency is actively managing around 18,000 cases which have been progressed to the furthest possible point but barriers to their removal remain, such as ongoing litigation, impending prosecution, incomplete legal or criminal proceedings, non-compliance or because they are from difficult to remove countries. These cases are being actively progressed and will be concluded when those barriers have been lifted.
	The UK Border Agency will also continue to monitor and complete checks on 98,000 cases which were placed in the Controlled Archive because the individuals could not be traced. The agency will reactivate cases where new information comes to light that allows cases to be progressed and concluded.
	The Agency completed its review of all cases in the legacy cohort at the end of March 2011. A total of 500,500 cases were reviewed as part of the programme and the majority (455,000) have been fully concluded.
	The UK Border Agency established the Case Assurance and Audit Unit (CAAU) to actively manage those 23,000 cases which had been reviewed but had barriers to conclusion. All these cases have been decided and communicated to the applicants.
	The CAAU has now fully concluded 1,500 of those cases. They have also issued around 3,000 grants which are subject to information from the applicant in order to complete a final security check.
	The UK Border Agency is actively managing around 18,000 cases which have been caseworked to the furthest possible point but barriers to their removal remain, such as ongoing litigation, impending prosecution, incomplete legal or criminal proceedings, non-compliance or because they are from difficult to remove countries. These cases are being actively caseworked and will be concluded when those barriers have been lifted.
	Note:
	All figures rounded to the nearest 500.

Asylum

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent progress has been made on the implementation of the new asylum processing system.

Damian Green: The Asylum Improvement Project was set up to explore new ways to speed up the processing of asylum applications. We have already seen improvement outcomes from this project which include:
	replacing the old PSA target with a new performance framework to ensure that the whole system remains in balance;
	introducing better, shorter guidance for case owners on sensitive issues, including gender;
	revision of our policies for dealing with applications from lesbian and gay asylum seekers.
	The improvements that we have made to our processes have already had a positive impact on performance:
	Eurostat statistics show that in June 2010 there were nearly 7,720 asylum seekers waiting for a decision on their application. In July 2011 that had reduced to 5,670 and this is despite an increase in applications.
	We are making decisions more quickly. On average 59% of applications now receive a decision within 30 days.
	Our internal audit process shows that the quality of our decisions has remained high.
	The cost of the asylum support system has been reduced by over £100 million in the last year.
	Removals are getting faster. 19% of asylum seekers are now removed within 12 months.
	We continue to pursue an ongoing programme of innovation and reform to ensure that the asylum system delivers swifter, higher quality case conclusions, delivered at significantly lower cost to the taxpayer.
	Further information on the Asylum Improvement Project can be found in its one-year-on progress report published in May 2011. The report can be found on the UK Border Agency website at:
	www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/reports/asylum-improvement-project/

Asylum

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how funding criteria are being developed for new applications for the Prevent strategy.

James Brokenshire: Our priority is to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism through the delivery of the objectives in the Prevent strategy. We have developed criteria for the assessment of funding applications based on established and objective project management guidance for the delivery of projects. Key features that the bids are assessed against include details of project deliverables, milestones and value for money. We will use these criteria as a basis to assess each project's ability to deliver Prevent objectives, the likelihood of the project proposal achieving its aims and how it will impact on people who are most vulnerable to radicalisation.

Asylum: English Language

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many successful applicants for asylum had the ability to speak English to A1 standard in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010.

Damian Green: holding answer 12 October 2011
	The UK Border Agency does not collect data on how many successful asylum seekers speak English.

Asylum: English Language

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what English language training her Department provides to successful applicants for asylum; what the budget for such training was in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11; and what the budget for such training will be in each financial year to 2014-15.

Damian Green: holding answer 12 October 2011
	The Home Office does not provide English language training for refugees or hold a budget for such training.
	Refugees are able to apply for ESOL classes subject to meeting certain eligibility criteria.

Deportation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with the Sri Lankan High Commissioner in London on the deportation from the UK of Sri Lankan nationals.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency, together with representatives from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, maintain a regular dialogue on migration with officials at the high commission of Sri Lanka including on matters relating to the re-documentation and return of Sri Lankan nationals when they have no legal right to remain in the UK.

Deportation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Sri Lankan nationals have been deported from the UK to Sri Lanka in each of the last 10 years.

Damian Green: The following table provides the available information on total number of Sri Lankan nationals who were removed or departed voluntarily from the UK to Sri Lanka by type in each year from 2004 to 2010. Data for earlier years are not available.
	
		
			 Removals and voluntary departures  (1,2)  , by type, nationals of Sri Lanka to Sri Lanka, January 2004 to December 2010 
			 Number of departures 
			  2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010  (8) 
			 Removals and voluntary departures, nationals of Sri Lanka to Sri Lanka 523 510 819 611 439 488 590 
			 Of which:        
			 Enforced removals and notified voluntary departures(3, 4) 283 199 421 317 180 191 210 
		
	
	
		
			 Assisted Voluntary Returns(5) 208 269 303 181 124 130 162 
			 Other voluntary departures(6) n/a 4 71 77 81 101 155 
			 Non-asylum cases refused entry at port and subsequently removed(7) 32 38 24 36 54 66 63 
			 n/a = Not applicable (1) Removals and voluntary departures recorded on the system as at the dates on which the data extracts were taken. (2) Destination as recorded on source database. (3) Due to a reclassification of removal categories, figures include asylum removals which have been performed by Enforcement Officers using port powers of removal and a small number of cases dealt with at juxtaposed controls. (4) Since October 2006, figures include persons leaving under Facilitated Return Schemes. (5) Persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by Refugee Action from April 2011 (previously run by the International Organization for Migration). May include some cases leaving under the Assisted Voluntary Return for Irregular Migrants Programme and some cases where enforcement action had been initiated. (6) Since January 2005, persons who it has been established left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. (7) Figures include persons departing voluntarily after enforcement action had been initiated against them, cases dealt with at juxtaposed controls, removals performed by immigration officers at ports using enforcement powers and since 2005 a small number of cases who it has been established left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. (8) Provisional. 
		
	
	The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of persons removed or departed voluntarily from the UK within Immigration Statistics. The data on removals and voluntary departures are available in tables rv.01 to rv.08 from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Science, research and statistics webpages at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/migration/migration-statistics1/

Deportation: Offenders

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 13 September 2011, Official Report, columns 1131-2W, on deportation: offenders, for how many foreign national offenders subject to Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements is their location unknown. [Official Report, 20 October 2011, Vol. 533, c. 9MC.]

Damian Green: There are four foreign national prisoners subject to Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements whom the UK Border Agency is considering for deportation and whose location is unknown.
	The UK Border Agency seeks to deport from the UK foreign national offenders who meet the following criteria:
	A court recommendation.
	For non-EEA nationals—a custodial sentence of 12 months or more either in one sentence or as an aggregate of two or three sentences over a period of five years, or a custodial sentence of any length for a drug offence (other than possession).
	For EEA nationals—a custodial sentence of 12 months or more for an offence involving drugs, violent or sexual crimes or a custodial sentence of 24 months or more for other offences.
	There may also be other foreign nationals subject to Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements whose whereabouts is unknown, but are not subject to deportation consideration by the UK Border Agency.
	The UK Border Agency's work on relocating individuals subject to deportation consideration is a high priority and they actively pursue individuals whose whereabouts are currently unknown.

DNA: Databases

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on the retention of DNA of those arrested but not charged with a qualifying offence as defined in the Crime and Security Act 2010.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 9 September 2011
	Our position remains that, where a person is arrested but not charged for a qualifying offence, if the police believe there are sufficient public protection grounds to justify the retention of DNA and fingerprint records, they will be able to apply to the new Commissioner for the Retention and Use of Biometric Material.
	The Commissioner will decide whether or not retention is justified; if the Commissioner agrees, the police will be able to retain material for a period of three years. At the end of that period, they will be able to apply to a magistrates court for a single, two-year, extension to the retention period.

Domestic Violence

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for protection under the domestic violence rule of the Immigration Rules have been (a) made, (b) accepted and (c) rejected in the latest period for which figures are available.

Damian Green: The number of applications for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) under the domestic violence rule that have been made, accepted and refused from 1 January 2007 to 30 September 2011 are as follows:
	
		
			  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 Applications made 1,341 1,336 1,324 1,240 958 
			       
			 Granted/accepted 350 431 462 641 710 
			 Refused 455 487 602 478 150 
			 Other(1) 536 418 260 121 98 
			 (1 )Includes rejected, void and withdrawn applications. 
		
	
	All figures quoted are internal management information only and are subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.
	It should be noted that “rejected” is a separate application outcome for applications which have not been completed correctly.

Entry Clearances

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Ghanaian nationals were refused entry to the UK in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: The number of Ghanaian nationals initially refused entry to the United Kingdom was 501 in 2006, 426 in 2007, 450 in 2008, 269 in 2009 and 236 in 2010. 2010 figures are provisional.
	The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of persons refused entry to the United Kingdom. Data on those refused entry are available in tables be.08 to be.08q from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Science, research and statistics web pages at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/migration/migration-statistics1/

Entry Clearances

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications from Ghanaian nationals have been (a) granted and (b) refused in each of the last 10 years.

Damian Green: The number of asylum applications, excluding dependants, from nationals of Ghana that have been (a) granted asylum on initial decisions and (b) refused asylum on initial decisions are provided in the following table:
	
		
			 Asylum applications and initial decisions  (1,2,3)   for main applicants, nationals of Ghana 
			 Principal applicants 
			  Total applications Total initial decisions Total grants Grants of asylum Grants of HP Grants of DL Grants of ELR Total refusals Total withdrawals 
			 2001 192 423 93 48 — — 45 330 22 
			 2002 277 254 24 14 — — 10 230 23 
			 2003 323 334 16 7 0 8 1 318 45 
			 2004 353 324 10 4 0 6 — 314 83 
			 2005 231 203 15 2 2 11 — 188 138 
			 2006 130 87 3 0 0 3 — 84 94 
			 2007 122 101 4 0 0 4 — 97 27 
			 2008 141 95 1 0 0 1 — 94 35 
			 2009 139 101 7 1 0 6 — 94 44 
			 2010 167 159 6 0 1 5 — 153 43 
			 (1) 2009 and 2010 figures are provisional. (2) Initial decisions do not necessarily relate to applications made in the same period and exclude the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions. (3) Humanitarian Protection (HP) and Discretionary Leave (DL) replaced Exceptional Leave to Remain (ELR) from 1 April 2003. 
		
	
	These data were published in Table as.01 of Immigration Statistics: April-June 2011. Further information on asylum application outcomes is available from the Immigration Statistics release available in the Library of the House and the Home Office Science website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/migration/migration-statistics1/

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many student visas were granted to Ghanaian nationals in each of the last 10 years.

Damian Green: The figures are for main student visa applicants only and do not include student visitors.
	
		
			  Total number of visas issued 
			 2004 2,088 
			 2005 1,097 
			 2006 1,181 
			 2007 981 
			 2008 837 
			 2009 782 
			 2010 832 
		
	
	These data are based management information. They are provisional and subject to change.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many student visas have been granted to foreign nationals (a) under the age of 20 and (b) over the age of 30 in each of the last 10 years.

Damian Green: The following table shows the requested information from 2004 (the earliest date for which figures are available).
	
		
			  Under 20 years of age Over 30 years of age 
			 2004 48,229 25,390 
			 2005 50,752 24,641 
			 2006 61,424 26,541 
			 2007 63,848 25,053 
			 2008 43,148 22,452 
			 2009 51,962 23,954 
			 2010 46,289 21,702 
		
	
	These data are based on management information. They are provisional and subject to change.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals in respect of refused student visa applications have (a) been upheld and (b) not been upheld in the last 12 months.

Damian Green: The points-based system Tier 4 student visa does not carry the right of appeal. Therefore no appeals were heard. Applicants can instead request an administrative review which is conducted by the entry clearance manager at post.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many student visas were (a) applied for and (b) granted in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: The figures are for main student visa applicants only and do not include student visitors.
	
		
			  Applications  (1) Issued  (2) 
			 2006 283,724 190,219 
			 2007 284,567 193,775 
			 2008 312,242 207,777 
			 2009 384,934 273,214 
			 2010 322,767 253,767 
			 (1) These data are based management information. They are provisional and subject to change. (2) Published statistic available at: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/migration/migration-statistics1/

Foreign Workers: Nurses

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effect of recent changes to immigration rules to the supply of nurses through the Overseas Nurses Programme.

Damian Green: Nurses applying through the Overseas Nursing Programme continue to qualify under Tier 2 of the Points-Based System where there are labour market gaps which cannot be filled by settled workers.

Government Procurement Card

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) date of purchase, (b) amount, (c) supplier and (d) level 3 or enhanced transaction entry was of each transaction undertaken by her Department using the Government Procurement Card in (i) 2007-08, (ii) 2008-09 and (iii) 2009-10.

Damian Green: Details of Government Procurement Card transactions undertaken by the Home Department in (i) 2007-08, (ii) 2008-09 and (iii) 2009-10 can be obtained only at disproportionate cost due to the need to redact manually sensitive information.
	We are currently working to provide a consistent method of reporting Government Procurement Card purchase information for individual transactions over £500 in value dating from 1 April 2011. We expect this information to be available on our departmental website before the end of the calendar year.

Government Procurement Card

Chris Kelly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Government Procurement Card transactions were made by her Department's officials withdrawing cash from automated teller machines from 2006-07 to 2009-10; at what cost; and on which dates.

Damian Green: During the period 2006-07 to 2009-10 no Government Procurement Card transactions were made by Home Department officials withdrawing cash from automated teller machines.

Hillsborough: Stadium

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with the Prime Minister since her appointment over the unredacted release of the Hillsborough Cabinet minutes.

Theresa May: The Prime Minister and I agree on the need to provide full transparency about the Hillsborough disaster through full public disclosure. All the Cabinet Office papers have been shared with the Hillsborough Independent Panel and the Government are happy for all the papers to be released as soon as the panel so decides, in consultation with the families. The Prime Minister and I expect them to be shared with the Hillsborough families first and then to the wider public.

Identity and Passport Service: Government Procurement Card

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) date of purchase, (b) amount, (c) supplier and (d) level 3 or enhanced transaction entry was of each transaction undertaken by the Identity and Passport Service using the Government Procurement Card in (i) 2007-08, (ii) 2008-09 and (iii) 2009-10.

Damian Green: In response to (i), the total expenditure incurred by the Identity and Passport Service (formerly the UK Passport Agency) in 2007-08 through use of the Government Procurement Card was £1,312,748. In response to (ii) and (iii), I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (John Glen) on 13 September 2011, Official Report, column 1135W.
	It is not possible to provide a breakdown of GPC transactions in these years without incurring disproportionate cost.

Illegal Immigrants

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding she plans to allocate to tackling illegal immigration at UK borders up to 2015.

Damian Green: The planned expenditure for the agency is set out in the following table. Detail of planned expenditure below the organisational level is not available as yet for the years 2012-15.
	
		
			 Budget (£ million) 
			  2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 
			 Total 2,414 2,298 2,239 2,184 2,162 
			 Of which:      
			 Taxpayer funding 1,613 1,469 1,371 1,334 1,309 
			 Note: The total spend figure is the gross spending of the agency, including spending funded by income earned.

Passport Office: Newark

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effect of the closure of the Newark Passport Office on passport application processing times.

Damian Green: The Identity and Passport Service does not have an office in Newark, I presume that the hon. Member is referring to the Newport office.
	The Newport office is not closing. In May 2011 I announced that the Newport office will be transformed into a customer service centre, and that the processing of postal and online applications will be transferred to other passport processing centres. This will have no impact on processing times.

Restraint Techniques

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the safety of (a) nose control and (b) other restraint techniques used by private security companies undertaking enforced removals; and what consideration she has given to phasing out the use of such techniques.

Damian Green: We would prefer that individuals who have no right to remain in the UK left voluntarily. However, where they refuse to do so, it may be necessary to enforce their removal.
	Escort officers will only ever use restraint as an absolute last resort when every effort to secure compliance during a removal has failed and where it is necessary to prevent self-harm or to protect others and property.
	In order to exercise any use of restraint, officers must be certified by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), a condition of which is that they have undergone training to a high standard of techniques approved by the National Offender Management Service.
	The ‘nose control’ technique was withdrawn in October 2010 and is no longer part of the training syllabus.

Third Sector

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many letters she has received on funding for civil society organisations within her Department's area of responsibility in each month since 1 June 2010; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: Letters on funding for civil sector organisations may be received in Home Office Headquarters centrally; by various individual business units; or by the Home Office's Agencies. The information is not therefore readily available or held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

UK Border Agency

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the policy of the UK Border Agency is on responding to constituency cases raised by regional list members of the (a) Scottish Parliament, (b) Welsh Assembly and (c) Northern Ireland Assembly.

Damian Green: The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), takes the view that immigration is a matter reserved for the Westminster Parliament and therefore inquiries from Members of Devolved Legislatures (MDLs) on individual immigration cases do not receive a substantive reply. MDLs are informed that their constituent should raise their query through their Westminster MP.
	However, substantive replies are given to all Ministers of devolved legislatures on individual immigration cases they raise in their ministerial capacity.
	Inquiries from MDLs on matters of policy and general inquiries receive full, substantive, replies from the UK Border Agency.

UK Border Agency: Government Procurement Card

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) date of purchase, (b) amount, (c) supplier and (d) level 3 or enhanced transaction entry was of each transaction undertaken by the UK Border Agency using the Government Procurement Card in (i) 2007-08, (ii) 2008-09 and (iii) 2009-10.

Damian Green: Details of Government Procurement Card transactions undertaken by the Home Department between 2007-08 and 2009-10 can be obtained only at disproportionate cost due to the need to redact manually sensitive information.
	We are currently working to provide a consistent method of reporting government procurement card spend data for transactions over £500 in value dating from 1 April 2011. We expect this information to be available on our departmental website before the end of the calendar year.

UK Border Agency: Illegal Immigrants

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how often UK Border Agency officials monitor illegal working in each UK fishing port; and what action was taken as a result of such monitoring.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency adopts an intelligence-led approach to its operations. Where intelligence is received which suggests illegal working is taking place this is investigated and appropriate action taken.
	The UK Border Agency monitors activity in the UK fishing fleet on an ongoing basis through the deployment of the cutter fleet to ports around the UK and the boarding of vessels at sea by crew from the cutters.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Legal Opinion

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the average hourly rate paid was to external (a) solicitors and (b) barristers engaged by his Department in 2010-11; what guidance his Department uses in commissioning external legal advice; and if he will publish (i) the names of each external (A) solicitor and (B) barrister engaged by his Department in 2010-11 and (ii) the sums paid in each case.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office did not engage any external solicitors or barristers during 2010-11.

JUSTICE

Anti-Slavery Day 2011

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans his Department has to mark Anti-Slavery Day 2011.

Crispin Blunt: The Government are fully committed to combating human trafficking by tackling organised crime groups and protecting the victims of this modern day slavery.
	While the Ministry of Justice has no plans to mark Anti-Slavery Day 2011, the Government as a whole are supporting Anti-Slavery Day 2011 by attending a series of events.

Association of British Insurers

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  whether officials in his Department have invited the Association of British Insurers to assist in the drafting of policy or legislation since May 2010;
	(2)  on how many occasions (a) Ministers and (b) civil servants in his Department have met (i) the Association of British Insurers, (ii) insurance companies and (iii) Keoghs solicitors since May 2010; and on what dates.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Association of British Insurers has not been invited to draft policy or legislation since May 2010. Departmental officials and I have met with a range of organisations with an interest in civil litigation costs and funding, including the ABI, so that they can assist in the policy formulation process. Such meetings, which have included organisations representing the full range of opinions on these issues, form an important part of the consultation on, and implementation of, the Jackson reforms.
	I refer the hon. Member to my reply to his question on 7 December 2010, Official Report, column l85W, which gave details of meetings I and my officials had with insurance companies until that date. Since then I have met with the ABI on 4 July 2011. I also met with Keogh's solicitors on 19 January 2011 as part of a wider roundtable meeting with several stakeholders. I was supported by the relevant officials at these meetings. I have not held meetings with any individual insurance companies additional to that. Departmental officials have met with the ABI on a number of occasions including on 24 May 2011, 9 August 2011, 29 September 2011 and 10 October 2011. My officials attended a meeting on 28 January 2011 with a range of stakeholders, including an insurance company. There was a meeting between the ABI, Keoghs, the NHS Litigation Authority, an insurance company and my officials on 12 May 2011. My officials met with a large insurer on 18 May 2011 and held two further meetings with “after the event” insurance companies on 8 June 2011 and 15 June 2011. Such insurers generally represent claimant interests.

Article 2 Investigations

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the (a) age of the individual concerned, (b) circumstances and (c) establishment in which the incident took place were for each non-fatal incident in relation to which an Article 2 compliant investigation has been completed;
	(2)  how many Article 2 compliant inquiries into non-fatal cases have been completed; and how many are ongoing or awaiting commencement.

Crispin Blunt: Three Article 2 compliant investigations have been completed into non-fatal incidents in prisons. The report into the circumstances surrounding a man known as D can be found on the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman's website and the report into the case of AA can be found on the Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody website. The third report into the case of JL is due to be published this month and will also appear on this website.
	There are five Article 2 investigations ongoing into non-fatal incidents in prisons and one is due to be commissioned shortly.

Civil Disorder

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many children imprisoned on remand as a result of the public disorder in August 2011 have been subsequently released on bail;
	(2)  how many people aged under 18 have been remanded in custody in connection with the public disorder in August 2011;
	(3)  how many children imprisoned on remand or under sentence in connection with the public disorder of August 2011 have appealed against their detention.

Crispin Blunt: The number of juveniles (aged 10 to 17) remanded in custody following the recent public disorder was 109 (data as of 12 September).
	The Ministry of Justice has published frequent updates on people being dealt with by the court system in relation to the disturbances on 6-9 August. These reports can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/ad-hoc/index.htm
	A more detailed release was published on 15 September containing detailed information on age, gender, offence committed, sentence given, and previous criminal history. This can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/criminal-justice/public-disorder-august-11.htm
	A further publication is planned for the last week of October which will cover wider socio-economic and demographic characteristics, including ethnicity information.

Claims Management Regulation Unit

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many complaints the Claims Management Regulation Unit has received relating to (a) Going Legal Ltd and (b) Legal Link Introductory Services Ltd; and how each complaint was resolved.

Kenneth Clarke: A request under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act from the hon. Member's office that asks for the above details is currently under consideration. Once a decision is reached he will be informed of the answer and a copy of the letter in response to that FOI request will be placed in the House Libraries.

Community Orders

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the completion rate was for people sentenced to unpaid work in each year since 2006.

Crispin Blunt: The successful completion rate for offenders sentenced to unpaid work in each year since 2006 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Table 1 
			  Percentage 
			 2006-07 72.00 
			 2007-08 68.00 
			 2008-09 71.75 
			 2009-10 74.45 
			 2010-11 75.27

Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much was spent on the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09 and (c) 2009-10;
	(2)  what the budget is for the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in the financial year (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14.

Jonathan Djanogly: The total spent on compensation payments to the blameless victims of violent crime in England, Wales and Scotland from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, to the nearest million, is as follows:
	
		
			  Compensation (£ million) 
			 2007-08 235 
			 2008-09 266 
			 2009-10 244 
			 2010-11 281 
		
	
	The departmental expenditure limit (DEL) funding allocated to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in respect of the financial year 2010-11 included an additional £70 million to meet demand. The funding allocated in respect of the financial year 2011-12 is £204 million. This level of funding is based upon a re-assessment of the caseload against the operational requirement to manage expected demand in 2011-12. However, as the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme is demand-led the Ministry of Justice will keep the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority's 2011-12 funding needs under constant review. Funding for the financial years 2012-13 and 2013-14 is yet to be approved and allocated.

Departmental Billing

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of invoices from suppliers his Department paid within 10 days of receipt in July and August 2010.

Jonathan Djanogly: The proportion of payments made within 10 days to all suppliers for the months of July and August 2010 are:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			 July 2010 93 
			 August 2010 93

Departmental Consultants

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what procedures his Department uses when engaging external consultants.

Crispin Blunt: In the current climate our expenditure on consultancy will be minimal and the test for using consultants in public service has to be set very high and with a compelling value for money test.
	In limited circumstances where we decide that consultancy support is necessary and essential to meet our departmental aims we will employ the following strategy and associated procedures:
	For low value requirements (below £100,000) we will utilise the planned Government Market Place;
	For high value requirements (above £100,000) we will utilise the planned Government Procurement Service Consultancy Framework;
	Pending the Government Market Place and the Government Procurement Service Consultancy Framework becoming available, we will continue to utilise the available Buying Solutions Frameworks.

Driving Offences

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  whether any drivers with over 12 penalty points on their licences have been allowed to continue driving through an exceptional hardship argument;
	(2)  how many drivers with 12 or more penalty points have been allowed to keep their driving licences due to mitigating circumstances in the last 12 months.

Crispin Blunt: Information held centrally by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on the Court Proceedings Database does not contain information about the circumstances behind each case beyond the description provided in the statute under which proceedings are brought. Information is not held on whether drivers incurring or exceeding 12 penalty points have reduced or avoided a driving disqualification for exceptional hardship or other mitigating circumstances at the court's discretion.

Fines: Surcharges

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much the victims' surcharge raised in income in 2010-11; how much he expects it to generate in income in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14; and how much of the sum raised he expects to arise from the implementation of the Prisoner Earnings Act 1996.

Crispin Blunt: The Victim Surcharge, which at the moment is only ordered on fines, raised £10.5 million in 2010-11 and we would expect to continue to raise a similar amount in future years.
	This figure excludes deductions taken under the Prisoners' Earnings Act 1996 from which we estimate that revenue in the first 12 months, beginning in September 2011, will be up to £1 million.

Government Procurement Card

Chris Kelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many Government Procurement Card transactions were made by his Department's officials withdrawing cash from automated teller machines from 2006-07 to 2009-10; at what cost; and on which dates.

Kenneth Clarke: Financial controls in place on the use of Ministry of Justice Government Procurement cards (GPC) prevent cash being withdrawn by cardholders. However, selected cardholders in the former Tribunals Service were authorised to withdraw cash for the purposes of reimbursing appellants expenses. The process was strictly controlled at the business unit level and monitored by district managers to ensure compliance with the process. This process was replaced in July 2011 so cash withdrawals are no longer made using the GPC.
	Data in the format my hon. Friend has requested for individual transactions is not held centrally and would require an approach the individual business units for this information. An initial assessment indicates that contacting staff members and compiling this data would take in excess of 3.5 days.

Immigration: Judges

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what information his Department holds on the number of immigration judges who were previously legal practitioners dealing with immigration cases.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Ministry of Justice does not collect, or record separately, information about the previous practitioner experience of those who apply for appointment to the Immigration and Asylum Chamber.

Legal Aid Scheme

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of employment law legal aid cases he expects to run on a damages-based agreement or contingency fee arrangement basis after the implementation of the provisions of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill.

Jonathan Djanogly: Following implementation of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, legal aid will no longer be available for employment cases except in relation to a contravention of the Equality Act 2010. We do not hold data on cases which are privately funded by means other than legal aid.

Legal Services Commission

Martin Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the running costs of the Defence Solicitor Call Centre in the Legal Services Commission were in the latest year in which records are available.

Jonathan Djanogly: The running costs of the Defence Solicitor Call Centre are available on the Legal Services Commission's website, in table CDS1 of the 2010-11 annual 'statistical information' publication under 'telephone advice admin costs'. The publication can be found a the following link:
	http://www.legalservices.gov.uk/docs/about_us_main/Statistical_information_pack_2010-2011.pdf

Litter: Convictions

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many convictions there have been for the offence of depositing litter in each year since 2007;
	(2)  how many convictions there have been for throwing litter from motor vehicles in each year since 2001.

Crispin Blunt: The number of defendants found guilty at all courts for littering offences in England and Wales from 2007 to 2010 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.
	Information held centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the Court Proceedings Database does not contain information about the circumstances behind each case, beyond the description provided in the statute under which proceedings are brought. It is therefore not possible to separately identify convictions that resulted from throwing litter from motor vehicles.
	Court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in the spring of 2012.
	
		
			 Number of defendants found guilty at all courts for littering offences, England and Wales, 2007 to 2010  (1,2) 
			 Offence description Statute 2007 2008  (3) 2009 2010 
			 Littering Environmental Protection Act 1990, s.87, 93, 94, 94(8)(9) as substituted by Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, s.21 2,304 2,715 3,489 3,573 
			 (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Maintenance

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the maintenance backlog was in his Department's estate in each of the last five years.

Crispin Blunt: The maintenance backlog for the Ministry of Justice estate
	since it was created in 2007 has been as follows:
	
		
			  £ billion 
			 2007 1.35 
			 2008 1.38 
			 2009 1.36 
			 2010 1.36 
		
	
	The maintenance backlog figure for 2011 has not yet been calculated.

National Offender Management Service: Manpower

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff of (a) the National Offender Management Service and (b) his Department were seconded to the prison and probation ombudsman in (i) 2005, (ii) 2006, (iii) 2007, (iv) 2008, (v) 2009 and (vi) 2010.

Crispin Blunt: As the head of an independent organisation, it is a matter for the prisons and probation ombudsman (PPO) to determine the complement of his own staff. The PPO considers staff secondments to include staff on detachment from NOMS and from the wider MoJ.
	Information on staff secondments during 2005 and 2006 is not held by the PPO. The following table gives numbers, as supplied by the PPO, of staff seconded from NOMS for the period 2007-10. During this period, the PPO seconded no members of staff from the wider Ministry of Justice.
	As at October 2011 there were no seconded staff employed by the PPO.
	Staff seconded by the PPO from NOMS by year:
	
		
			  Number of staff  (1) 
			 2005 (2)— 
			 2006 (2)— 
			 2007 11 
			 2008 9 
			 2009 5 
			 2010 3 
			 (1 )Number seconded as at December of that year. (2) No records.

Office of Public Guardian

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to the public purse was of relocating the Office of Public Guardian from London to Manchester.

Jonathan Djanogly: As part of the Office of the Public Guardian's (OPGs) Transformation Programme it has been carrying out a phased relocation of work from London to the Midlands.
	The relocation project started in 2009 with the opening of an office at 54 Hagley road, Birmingham and continued with the opening of an office at the Pearson Building, Nottingham in 2010.
	The final phase of the relocation project will see the OPG reducing its remaining London presence to a limited number of core corporate and operational roles and relocating the remainder of its business to the Axis building in Birmingham. The estimated total of estate relocation and staff exit costs for this final phase is £6.9 million.
	The OPG is not relocating any of its functions to Manchester.

Operation Safeguard

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many (a) cells in police stations and (b) cells in courts are available for use under Operation Safeguard;
	(2)  what the cost per cell per night is of using (a) cells in police stations and (b) cells in courts for Operation Safeguard.

Crispin Blunt: There is no fixed limit on the number of police or court cells that could be used to hold prisoners, as the number that can be made available at any one time depends on the occupancy levels required to deliver their primary function. If these places are required the number that will be made available will be determined jointly by NOMS and ACPO for police cells, or NOMS and HMCTS for court cells.
	The maximum cost per night of a police cell used under operation safeguard is £400, although the actual price charged will normally be less. The pricing structure for police cells is set out in the Safeguard National Framework Agreement.
	The pricing of court cell contingencies is determined by commercial contracts with a number of private sector organisations. Because of the confidential nature of these contracts it would not be appropriate to publicly release these costs.

Prison Accommodation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the occupancy rate was for each prison and young offenders establishment on (a) 1 January 2010, (b) 1 March 2010, (c) 1 June 2010, (d) 1 September 2010, (e) 1 December 2010, (f) 1 January 2011, (g) 1 February 2011, (h) 1 March 2011, (i) 1 June 2011 and (j) 1 October 2011.

Crispin Blunt: This information is not available in the format requested. The occupancy rate of each establishment in the NOMS custodial estate, as defined by the percentage of population, to in-use certified normal accommodation is published for the last working Friday in December 2009, February 2010, May 2010, August 2010, November 2010, December 2010, January 2011, February 2011, March 2011 and September 2011 and is set out in the following table. This information is published monthly on the MOJ website via the attached link.
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/prisons-and-probation/prison-population-figures/index.htm
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 Establishment Fri 18 Dec 2009 Fri 26 Feb 2010 Fri 28 May 2010 Fri 27 Aug 2010 Fri 26 Nov 2010 Fri 31 Dec 2010 Fri 28 Jan 2011 Fri 25 Feb 2011 Fri 27 May 2011 Fri 30 Sept 2011 
			 Acklington/Castington 92 92 83 82 82 81 80 81 91 98 
			 Altcourse 162 161 159 153 158 145 148 147 143 149 
			 Ashfield 61 58 56 75 83 73 77 82 88 89 
			 Ashwell 111 109 115 115 115 115 86 — — — 
			 Askham Grange 99 93 90 97 98 91 102 102 100 98 
			 Aylesbury 99 99 103 102 99 97 101 98 99 100 
			 Bedford 155 153 152 148 148 137 147 146 144 157 
			 Belmarsh 109 110 108 108 104 97 104 108 108 114 
			 Birmingham 128 133 134 134 131 131 133 133 136 134 
			 Blantyre House 99 100 99 98 100 100 98 96 99 99 
			 Blundeston 108 108 108 108 111 111 106 109 111 108 
			 Brinsford 95 80 99 97 96 90 92 95 101 106 
			 Bristol 142 143 139 140 141 136 143 140 146 150 
			 Brixton 123 125 125 115 137 131 138 139 132 146 
			 Bronzefield 98 89 96 91 93 85 94 95 93 100 
			 Buckley Hall 109 110 109 110 110 108 109 110 106 108 
			 Bullingdon 125 127 127 123 123 119 125 125 123 125 
			 Bullwood Hall 101 101 100 101 102 104 101 104 96 106 
			 Bure 98 98 94 103 103 103 102 103 104 103 
			 Canterbury 159 159 154 158 159 148 156 157 157 156 
			 Cardiff 150 149 146 148 151 148 147 148 145 152 
			 Channings Wood 104 103 104 104 102 101 101 103 103 104 
			 Chelmsford 121 117 122 121 123 123 122 124 121 130 
			 Coldingley 103 103 103 104 103 103 102 104 102 103 
			 Cookham Wood 92 76 92 94 85 73 68 65 80 89 
			 Dartmoor 103 104 103 89 101 100 101 102 102 100 
			 Deerbolt 96 97 95 97 97 92 93 93 91 96 
			 Doncaster 147 147 155 155 152 149 155 156 153 155 
			 Dorchester 175 169 158 149 168 145 158 160 151 154 
			 Dovegate 100 103 107 107 110 109 107 105 104 106 
			 Downview 95 94 95 95 96 93 94 97 96 96 
			 Drake Hall 96 83 95 95 96 86 88 97 98 99 
			 Durham 159 159 152 154 154 147 151 158 154 157 
			 East Sutton Park 86 87 89 86 100 88 91 93 99 98 
			 Eastwood Park 79 93 97 96 99 86 98 99 95 100 
			 Erlestoke 99 99 99 79 99 97 99 98 99 96 
			 Everthorpe 113 113 112 113 110 109 108 112 112 112 
			 Exeter 166 163 161 163 169 157 164 170 160 162 
			 Featherstone 101 101 102 101 101 102 101 101 101 102 
			 Feltham 86 88 89 88 91 83 87 91 90 95 
			 Ford 94 94 92 96 99 94 86 76 95 98 
			 Forest Bank 132 127 128 124 129 123 125 128 125 126 
			 Foston Hall 77 83 86 82 87 80 85 99 99 102 
			 Frankland 92 94 95 96 97 98 96 97 96 96 
			 Full Sutton 100 100 99 98 100 100 100 100 102 101 
			 Garth 103 104 104 103 101 101 103 104 103 103 
			 Gartree 99 99 99 99 100 100 99 97 100 100 
			 Glen Parva 118 113 116 119 110 108 105 115 116 117 
			 Gloucester 132 134 137 128 138 121 132 128 128 149 
			 Grendon / Spring Hill 95 93 96 91 91 91 93 94 96 96 
			 Guys Marsh 110 110 110 112 111 108 111 111 111 110 
			 Hatfield 96 98 98 98 98 97 97 97 97 96 
			 Haverigg 101 84 102 100 100 100 99 101 102 102 
			 Hewell 118 117 115 116 120 110 115 119 120 124 
			 High Down 112 109 109 104 108 103 101 106 105 110 
			 Highpoint (North and South) 100 101 101 101 101 99 100 101 101 101 
			 Hindley 69 75 74 74 65 65 65 71 76 81 
			 Hollesley Bay 99 94 99 98 98 97 100 97 98 100 
			 Holloway 86 88 86 89 85 85 82 93 99 105 
			 Holme House 109 110 106 101 96 91 94 94 101 115 
			 Hull 138 128 136 134 139 131 131 131 129 138 
			 Huntercombe 59 50 38 0 74 72 81 92 98 98 
		
	
	
		
			 Isis    73 82 79 68 65 85 113 
			 Isle of Wight 107 107 101 107 107 106 108 108 107 107 
			 Kennet 194 191 195 193 194 190 193 192 189 194 
			 Kingston 99 99 98 99 99 99 100 98 100 98 
			 Kirkham 100 100 100 99 100 99 98 99 99 98 
			 Kirklevington Grange 97 97 95 98 95 94 92 96 98 100 
			 Lancaster 152 150 151 145 148 147 124 48   
			 Lancaster Farms 101 106 103 103 105 94 105 108 108 102 
			 Latchmere House 93 95 96 96 100 93 98 97 96  
			 Leeds 139 138 137 138 139 134 143 136 128 139 
			 Leicester 174 169 163 160 164 157 163 163 159 175 
			 Lewes 108 90 97 97 95 92 95 96 95 103 
			 Leyhill 94 95 98 97 97 94 96 98 97 98 
			 Lincoln 155 147 146 141 138 128 131 143 141 158 
			 Lindholme 105 103 104 105 104 101 104 104 107 107 
			 Littlehey 108 103 95 94 101 102 101 103 102 108 
			 Liverpool 111 110 112 110 109 99 101 108 104 108 
			 Long Lartin 99 98 99 100 99 99 99 99 99 99 
			 Low Newton 96 97 101 80 97 91 88 104 87 93 
			 Lowdham Grange 107 107 93 104 106 104 103 103 104 102 
			 Maidstone 105 106 105 106 106 105 104 105 105 104 
			 Manchester 130 131 124 128 130 123 125 127 125 125 
			 Moorland 103 105 105 102 68 92 94 99 106 88 
			 Morton Hall 96 83 74 79 75 69 44 11   
			 Mount 103 102 101 102 102 103 102 102 101 102 
			 New Hall 91 88 98 96 95 91 90 102 105 98 
			 North Sea Camp 92 99 98 97 96 98 98 97 98 98 
			 Northallerton 169 153 166 119 138 121 122 116 132 159 
			 Norwich 116 118 120 120 119 113 119 120 121 124 
			 Nottingham 145 146 120 145 145 133 141 145 140 146 
			 Onley 98 86 99 98 99 95 97 99 99 99 
			 Parc 139 138 141 136 127 128 123 119 126 124 
			 Pentonville 134 130 134 134 135 127 134 137 131 142 
			 Peterborough (Male and Female) 113 112 116 114 113 103 107 118 110 115 
			 Portland 101 102 102 102 102 92 85 88 99 107 
			 Preston 169 171 168 171 167 166 168 173 162 165 
			 Ranby 111 112 111 108 122 120 120 122 121 122 
			 Reading 143 130 130 126 124 114 120 116 125 124 
			 Risley 103 103 102 103 104 103 102 104 102 103 
			 Rochester 100 98 99 95 100 95 98 98 84 97 
			 Rye Hill 109 109 107 102 101 102 101 102 103 103 
			 Send 96 98 95 97 100 96 98 98 98 99 
			 Sheppey 111 109 105 109 110 109 109 109 108 111 
			 Shepton Mallet 113 114 114 115 113 113 114 114 114 114 
			 Shrewsbury 158 168 166 169 177 171 179 179 182 185 
			 Stafford 99 99 98 98 101 102 101 101 101 101 
			 Stocken 104 103 108 107 108 106 106 107 107 103 
			 Stoke Heath 96 92 103 105 85 80 76 77 55 72 
			 Styal 98 101 98 90 94 90 96 99 101 97 
			 Sudbury 99 98 100 98 99 97 98 99 98 99 
			 Swansea 169 173 164 175 175 171 173 175 178 182 
			 Swinfen Hall 103 106 103 99 106 107 104 106 102 107 
			 Thorn Cross 87 85 82 92 91 86 89 89 91 93 
			 Usk/Prescoed 134 130 133 134 125 130 127 133 132 132 
			 Verne 103 103 102 103 99 105 102 103 102 104 
			 Wakefield 99 98 99 99 98 99 99 99 99 99 
			 Wandsworth 150 149 148 144 148 142 148 149 150 153 
			 Warren Hill 81 66 59 78 96 91 95 96 94 88 
			 Wayland 96 104 105 105 104 104 104 105 105 105 
			 Wealstun 103 101 98 95 95 99 100 101 101 100 
		
	
	
		
			 Wellingborough 100 98 85 88 99 98 98 100 100 100 
			 Werrington 85 76 79 73 71 64 71 91 95 89 
			 Wetherby 76 65 79 96 96 81 85 90 86 93 
			 Whatton 111 111 109 110 106 108 107 108 108 108 
			 Whitemoor 96 95 100 99 99 99 97 97 99 98 
			 Winchester 140 137 140 138 135 129 132 135 139 137 
			 Wolds 123 121 122 120 119 119 120 114 113 110 
			 Woodhill 122 121 120 123 121 117 122 124 121 126 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 110 113 108 108 106 102 108 109 103 110 
			 Wymott 105 102 104 104 104 104 105 104 104 104

Prison Accommodation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much prison capacity in each prison has been (a) brought into use and (b) taken out of use in each of the last 12 months.

Crispin Blunt: The number of additional prison places that have been (a) brought in to use and (b) taken out of use in each prison and young offender institution in the NOMS estate as at the last working Friday in each of the last 12 months is set out in the following tables.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			  Brought into use 
			 Establishment Fri 29 Oct 2010 Fri 26 Nov 2010 Fri 31 Dec 2010 Fri 28 Jan 2011 Fri 25 Feb 2011 Fri 25 Mar 2011 Fri 15 Apr 2011 Fri 27 May 2011 Fri 24 June 2011 Fri 29 July 2011 Fri 26 Aug 2011 Fri 30 Sept 2011 
			 Acklington/ Castington 60 107 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Altcourse — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Ashfield — — — — — — — — — — 23  
			 Ashwell — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Askham Grange — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Aylesbury — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Bedford — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Belmarsh — — — — — — — — — — 24  
			 Birmingham — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Blantyre House — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Blundeston — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Brinsford — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Bristol — — — — — — 8 — — — — 24 
			 Brixton — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Bronzefield — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Buckley Hall — — — — — 10 30 20 — — — — 
			 Bullingdon — — — — — — — 6 — — — — 
			 Bullwood Hall — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Bure — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Canterbury — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Cardiff — — — — — — — — — — — 10 
			 Channings Wood — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Chelmsford — — — — — — — — — — — 52 
			 Coldingley — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Cookham Wood — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Dartmoor — — — — — — — — — 4 — 4 
			 Deerbolt — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Doncaster — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Dorchester — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Dovegate — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Downview — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Drake Hall — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Durham — 2 — 3 — — — — — — — — 
			 East Sutton Park — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Eastwood Park 1 — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Erlestoke — — — — — — — — — — — 124 
		
	
	
		
			 Everthorpe — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Exeter — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Featherstone — — — — — — — — — 32 — — 
			 Feltham — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Ford — — — — 24 52 — — — — — — 
			 Forest Bank — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Foston Hall — — 24 — 6 6 — — — — — — 
			 Frankland — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Full Sutton — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Garth — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Gartree — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Glen Parva — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Gloucester — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Grendon/Spring Hill — — 4 — —        
			 Guys Marsh — — — — — — — — — — — 1 
			 Hatfield — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Haverigg — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Hewell — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 High Down — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Highpoint (North and South) — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Hindley — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Hollesley Bay — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Holloway 35 — — 2 — 58 — — — — — — 
			 Holme House 1 112 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Hull — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Huntercombe 50 100 125 97 — — — — — — — — 
			 Isis — 72 72 36 120 95 75 44 — — — — 
			 Isle of Wight — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Kennet — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Kingston — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Kirkham — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Kirklevington Grange — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Lancaster — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Lancaster Farms — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Latchmere House — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Leeds — — — — — — — — — — 40 — 
			 Leicester — — — — — — — — — — — 12 
			 Lewes — — — — — — — — — — 100 107 
			 Leyhill — 2 — — — — — — — — — 32 
			 Lincoln — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Lindholme — — — — — 16 — — — — — 1 
			 Littlehey — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Liverpool — — — — 13 — — — 12 — — — 
			 Long Lartin — — 6 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Low Newton — — — — — — — 30 24  — — 
			 Lowdham Grange — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Maidstone — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Manchester — — — — — — — — — — 18 — 
			 Moorland — — — — — — — — — 50 75 70 
			 Morton Hall — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Mount — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 New Hall — 6 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 North Sea Camp — — — — — 32 24 4 — — — — 
			 Northallerton — — — 10 — — — — — — — — 
			 Norwich — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Nottingham — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Onley — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Parc — 97 23 94 118 — 4 — — — — — 
			 Pentonville — — — — — — — 38 — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			 Peterborough (Male and Female) — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Portland — — — — — — — — — — 22 — 
			 Preston — — — — — — — 2 — — — — 
			 Ranby — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Reading — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Risley — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Rochester — — — — 9 — — — — — 6 — 
			 Rye Hill — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Send — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Sheppey 57 — — — — 18 — — — — — — 
			 Shepton Mallet — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Shrewsbury — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Stafford — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Stocken — — — — — — — — — — — 60 
			 Stoke Heath 18 — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Styal — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Sudbury — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Swansea — — — — — — — 7 — — — 10 
			 Swinfen Hall — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Thorn Cross — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Usk/Prescoed — 15 — — — — — 22 — — — 10 
			 Verne — — — — — — 1 — — — — — 
			 Wakefield — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Wandsworth — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Warren Hill — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Wayland — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Wealstun 81 — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Wellingborough — — — — — 36 30 — — — — — 
			 Werrington — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Wetherby 12 20 — — — 12 — — — — 12 — 
			 Whatton — 20 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Whitemoor — — — — 6 — — — — — — — 
			 Winchester — — — — — — 11 — — — — — 
			 Wolds — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Woodhill — — — — — — — — — — 21 — 
			 Wormwood Scrubs — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Wymott — — — — — — — — — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			  Taken out of use 
			 Establishment Fri 29 Oct 2010 Fri 26 Nov 2010 Fri 31 Dec 2010 Fri 28 Jan 2011 Fri 25 Feb 2011 Fri 25 Mar 2011 Fri 15 Apr 2011 Fri 27 May 2011 Fri 24 June 2011 Fri 29 July 2011 Fri 26 Aug 2011 Fri 30 Sept 2011 
			 Acklington/ Castington — — — — — 56 — — — — — — 
			 Altcourse — — — — — — 50 70 — — — — 
			 Ashfield — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Ashwell — — — — — 214 — — — — — — 
			 Askham Grange — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Aylesbury — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Bedford — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Belmarsh — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Birmingham — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Blantyre House — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Blundeston 54 18 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Brinsford — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Bristol — — 8 — — — — 16 — — — — 
			 Brixton — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Bronzefield — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Buckley Hall — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Bullingdon — — — — — 6 — — — — — — 
			 Bullwood Hall — — — — — — — — — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			 Bure — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Canterbury — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Cardiff — — — — — — — 20 — — — — 
			 Channings Wood — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Chelmsford — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Coldingley — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Cookham Wood — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Dartmoor — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Deerbolt — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Doncaster — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Dorchester — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Dovegate — — — 45 — — — — — — — — 
			 Downview 20 48 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Drake Hall — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Durham — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 East Sutton Park — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Eastwood Park — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Erlestoke — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Everthorpe — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Exeter — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Featherstone — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Feltham — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Ford — — — 112 — — — — — — — — 
			 Forest Bank — — — — — 30 30 — — — — — 
			 Foston Hall 17 — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Frankland — — — — 15 — — — — — — — 
			 Full Sutton — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Garth — — — — — — — 1 — — — — 
			 Gartree — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Glen Parva — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Gloucester — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Grendon/Spring Hill — 4 — — — — — 2 — — — — 
			 Guys Marsh — — — — — — — — 1 — — — 
			 Hatfield — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Haverigg — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Hewell — — — — — — — — — — — 170 
			 High Down — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Highpoint (North and South) — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Hindley — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Hollesley Bay — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Holloway — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Holme House — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Hull — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Huntercombe — — — — — — — — 2 — — — 
			 Isis — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Isle of Wight — — — 19 — — — — — — — — 
			 Kennet — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Kingston — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Kirkham — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Kirklevington Grange — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Lancaster — — — — — 233 10 — — — — — 
			 Lancaster Farms — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Latchmere House — — — — — — — — — — — 207 
			 Leeds — — — — — — 8 — — — — — 
			 Leicester — — — — — — — 6 — — — — 
			 Lewes — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Leyhill 4 — — 39 — — — — — — — — 
			 Lincoln — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Lindholme — — — — — — — — — 1 — — 
			 Littlehey — — — — — — — 60 — — 60 — 
		
	
	
		
			 Liverpool — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Long Lartin 6 — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Low Newton — 31 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Lowdham Grange — — 20 — — — 10 — — — — — 
			 Maidstone — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Manchester — — — — 18 — — — 12 — — — 
			 Moorland — — 340 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Morton Hall — — — — — 392 — — — — — — 
			 Mount — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 New Hall — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 North Sea Camp — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Northallerton — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Norwich — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Nottingham — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Onley — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Parc — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Pentonville — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Peterborough (Male and Female) — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Portland — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Preston — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Ranby — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Reading — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Risley — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Rochester 60 — 15 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Rye Hill 39 — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Send — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Sheppey — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Shepton Mallet — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Shrewsbury — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Stafford — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Stocken — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Stoke Heath — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Styal — — — 1 — — — — — — — — 
			 Sudbury — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Swansea — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Swinfen Hall — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Thorn Cross — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Usk/Prescoed — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Verne — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Wakefield — — — — 1 — — — — — — — 
			 Wandsworth — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Warren Hill — 94 — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Wayland — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Wealstun — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Wellingborough — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Werrington — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Wetherby — — — — — — — — 1 — — 14 
			 Whatton — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Whitemoor — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Winchester — — — — 11 — — — — — — — 
			 Wolds — — — — — — — — 35 — — — 
			 Woodhill — — — — — — — — — — — — 
			 Wormwood Scrubs — — — — — — — — — 30 30 — 
			 Wymott — — — — — — — — — — — —

Prisoners: Work Experience

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which private sector companies are involved in providing work opportunities for prisoners in each prison.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice does not centrally collect information on all private sector companies involved in providing work opportunities for prisoners as arrangements and partnerships can be established locally or nationally. There are many examples of successful partnerships in this area—for example employers recruiting offenders directly from prison, running a prison workshop, providing work placements, providing work for prisoners in prisons or helping shape policy and practice.
	A list of 'contract services' customers(1), many of whom are private sector, is available on the Justice website via the following link:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/about/hmps/prison-industries.htm(2)
	A number of other organisations from the private sector work in partnership with the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) to provide prison workshops offering training to prisoners and the chance of employment on release. These include:
	
		
			 Organisation Number of establishment(s) they are operating in 
			 Cisco Systems 32 
			 DHL/Booker 19 
			 National Grid (3)22 
			 Timpson's 4 
		
	
	There are many examples of successful partnerships across NOMS; whether employers are recruiting offenders directly from prison, running a prison workshop, providing work placements or helping shape policy and practice.
	(1)Where organisations use prison facilities and prisoner labour to carry out services or manufacture/assemble goods under contract.
	(2) Refer to the document at the bottom of the web page.
	(3) Across England and extending into Scotland and includes adult and female offenders.

Prisoners: Working Hours

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the resources required to support the policy of prisoners working a 40 hour week.

Crispin Blunt: We are continuing to develop a framework that will enable us to roll out our approach to working prisons and longer working weeks more widely across the prison estate.
	We want to see many more prisoners working, so that more work is delivered at no cost to the taxpayer and can contribute to victims' services.
	We will work to achieve this in a way which is economically viable and self-sustaining, including engaging with the private sector on how together we can expand prison work in a cost-effective way.

Prisons: Private Sector

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether prisons operated by the private sector are covered by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Crispin Blunt: Prisons operated by the private sector do not fall within the scope of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Information held by the Ministry of Justice relating to private sector prisons can be requested from the department under the FOIA.

Protection from Harassment Act 1997

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many people proceeded against under Section 2 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 where a crime was recorded were (a) subsequently not proceeded with, (b) found guilty and (c) found not guilty in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11;
	(2)  how many people proceeded against under Section 2 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 where a crime was recorded were (a) acquitted, (b) given a custodial sentence, (c) given a community sentence, (d) given a fine and (e) given a conditional or absolute discharge in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11.

Crispin Blunt: The number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts, acquitted, found guilty and sentenced at all courts, by result, for offences under Section 2 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 in England and Wales for the financial year 2009-10 and calendar year 2010 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.
	Police recorded crime statistics come within the remit of The Home Office. Offences recorded under Section 2 of the Protection of Harassment Act 1997 are included within their offence classification of 'Harassment' and cannot be separately identified from other offences recorded within that classification. It is therefore not possible to identify those Section 2 offences which are recorded and subsequently not proceeded with.
	Court proceedings data for 2011 are planned for publication in the spring of 2012.
	
		
			 Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts, acquitted, found guilty and sentenced at all courts, by result, for offences under Section 2 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997  (1)  , England and Wales, 2009-10 and 2010  (2,3) 
			 Statute 2009-10 2010 
			 Section 2 Protection from Harassment Act 1997   
			 Proceeded against 5,609 6,108 
			 Acquitted(4) 257 270 
			 Found guilty 4,458 4,740 
			    
			 Sentenced(5) 4,481 4,769 
			 Of which:   
			 Absolute discharge 11 11 
			 Conditional discharge 682 735 
			 Fine 511 569 
			 Community sentence 1,947 2,118 
			 Immediate custody 544 547 
		
	
	
		
			 Other sentences(6) 786 789 
			 (1) Includes the following corresponding offences: Offence of harassment Racially aggravated offence of harassment Religiously aggravated offence of harassment Racially or religiously aggravated offence of harassment (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Acquitted includes: Discharged and Dismissed at magistrates courts and Acquitted at the Crown Court. (5) The found guilty and sentenced columns may be lower than those proceeded against as, excluding those acquitted, it may be the case that a defendant found guilty, and committed for sentence at the Crown court, may be sentenced in the following year or found guilty of a different offence than that proceeded against. (6) Other sentences includes: suspended sentence and otherwise dealt with Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Repossession Orders

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many repossessions there have been in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) England since 2008.

Jonathan Djanogly: The following table shows the numbers of claims leading to orders being made for the repossession of property by mortgage lenders and landlords in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c)England in each year since 2008. The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the total numbers of repossessions of property (including where keys are handed back voluntarily).
	These figures represent the numbers of claims leading to orders being made. This is more accurate than the number of orders, removing the double-counting of instances where a single claim leads to more than one order. It is also a more meaningful measure of the number of homeowners who are subject to court repossession actions.
	These figures do not indicate how many properties have actually been repossessed. Repossessions can occur without a court order, such as where borrowers hand the keys back to the lender. Also, not all possession orders result in repossession. Many orders are suspended and if the borrower complies with the repayment arrangements set out in the suspended order the property will not be repossessed.
	
		
			 Number of mortgage  (1)   and landlord  (2,3)   possession claims leading to orders made  (4,5,6)   for properties in Ashfield constituency  (7,8)  , Nottinghamshire  (7)   and England, 2008-10 
			  Mortgage possession Landlord possession 
			  2008 2009 2010 2008 2009 2010 
			 Ashfield constituency 290 175 140 140 140 115 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,720 985 890 870 865 1,000 
			 England 103,780 67,315 53,045 95,255 87,885 86,310 
			 (1 )Includes all types of mortgage lenders.  (2) Includes all types of landlord whether social or private.  (3) Landlord actions include those made under both standard and accelerated procedures. Landlord actions via the accelerated procedure enables the orders to be made solely on the basis of written evidence for shorthold tenancies, when the fixed period of tenancy has come to an end.  (4) The number of claims that lead to an order includes all claims in which the first order, whether outright or suspended, is made during the period.  (5) The court, following a judicial decision, may grant an order for possession immediately. This entitles the claimant to apply for a warrant to have the defendant evicted. However, even where a warrant for possession is issued, the parties can still negotiate a compromise to prevent eviction.  (6) Includes outright and suspended orders, the latter being where the court grants the claimant possession but suspends the operation of the order. Provided the defendant complies with the terms of suspension, which usually require the defendant to pay the current mortgage or rent instalments plus some of the accrued arrears, the possession order cannot be enforced.  (7) All figures are rounded to the nearest five.  (8) Data up until the first quarter of 2010 (January to March) will reflect Ashfield constituency boundaries as fixed at the 2005 general election and for the rest of 2010 the re-fixed boundaries as of May 2010.  Source:  Ministry of Justice.

Stalking

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to introduce treatment for stalkers in (a) prisons and (b) as part of a community sentence.

Crispin Blunt: NOMS has developed and delivers a range of accredited offending behaviour programmes, designed to address a diverse range of criminogenic needs. Prisons and probation trusts provide accredited offending behaviour programmes and other interventions to address the risks and/or needs of offenders. The risks and needs of offenders convicted of stalking and harassment is assessed, and offenders are given access to available accredited and non accredited interventions that best meet their needs.

Translation Services

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what changes he proposes to the National Agreement on arrangements for the use of interpreters, translators and language service professionals in investigations and proceedings within the criminal justice system;
	(2)  what representations he has received from organisations and individuals involved in translation and interpretation on the decision to enter into a Commercial Framework Agreement for the provision of language services in the criminal justice system;
	(3)  which organisations were shortlisted for the Commercial Framework Agreement to deliver language services in the criminal justice system; and what the monetary value was of their respective tenders.

Crispin Blunt: As I announced in a written ministerial statement I made to the House on 5 July 2011, Official Report, columns 86-87WS, we are reforming the delivery of interpretation and translation services across the justice sector. This will primarily affect England and Wales. A Languages Services Framework Agreement with a single supplier was signed by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on 24 August 2011. As a result, parts of the National Agreement will be dis-applied to organisations inside the MoJ framework.
	The Ministry has received representations from a wide variety of individual interpreters, translators and their representative organisations throughout our consideration of this issue. We held a series of four roadshows, in autumn 2009 in London, Cardiff, Manchester and Newcastle, which sought attendees' views on the strengths and weaknesses of the current arrangements and how to bring about improvements. A general email address has been available since February 2010 to allow interested parties to submit views direct to the project team and ask questions.
	In August 2010 various interested parties were notified of the Government's intention to embark upon a procurement process and there were meetings with some of those interested parties, including interpreters' and translators' representative bodies. The Ministry sought views on our specific proposals as they had emerged from the competitive dialogue process, which was undertaken between 30 March 2011 and 4 May 2011. We continue to receive, consider and respond to correspondence from interested parties and groups.
	The procurement exercise for the Language Services Framework Agreement was undertaken via a competitive dialogue process. There were several stages to this process:
	(A) A Pre-qualification Questionnaire;
	(B) Invitation to submit an Outline Solution;
	(C) Invitation to submit a Detailed Solution;
	(D) Invitation to submit a Final Tender.
	126 suppliers were invited to submit a pre-qualification questionnaire. 77 accepted the invitation and 58 fully completed one. Their responses were evaluated.
	12 suppliers were invited to participate in the competitive dialogue itself, because they met the pre-qualification criteria. These were:
	Applied Language Solutions
	"Thebigword"
	Language Line Services
	K International
	Computacentre
	Merrill Legal
	Cintra Ltd
	Eclipse
	Language Services Associates
	Wessex Translations Ltd
	Royal National Institute for Deaf People
	SDL Plc.
	During the competitive dialogue process only one supplier met the acceptable non-price criteria following the Invitation to Submit Detailed Solution stage of the process. Therefore, only one supplier was able to go on to be evaluated against the price criteria. That supplier was awarded the Framework Agreement.
	The current value of interpretation and translation in the justice sector is between £58-65 million per year.

Victims' Advisory Panel

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much he expects to save through the abolition of the Victims' Advisory Panel.

Crispin Blunt: Abolishing the Victims' Advisory Panel will not result in administrative savings. This is because the Panel has not been active since 2009 and no budget has been allocated for it.
	In the last three years in which the Victims' Advisory Panel was active the Government spent the following amounts:
	£19,116 in 2007-08
	£46,940 in 2008-09
	£7,101 in 2009-10

Youth Justice Board

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will publish a revised impact assessment in relation to the proposed abolition of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales including the estimated costs of abolition and updated estimates of the savings from abolition; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: We will publish a revised impact assessment alongside the Government's response to the consultation on reforming the public bodies of the Ministry of Justice.
	The revised impact assessment will include estimated savings from, and the costs of, the proposed abolition of the Youth Justice Board.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

BBC

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  whether he expects future funding settlements for Welsh language television services to be a matter for agreement between the BBC and S4C;
	(2)  whether he intends to issue directions to the BBC Trust on the level of support to be provided for S4C beyond 2015.

Edward Vaizey: The S4C-BBC partnership arrangements will ensure a strong, sustainable future for S4C and Welsh language broadcasting. S4C, the BBC and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are currently in discussion about the details of how the partnership arrangements will work. The Government are committed to consulting interested parties on the governance arrangements before they are implemented.

Broadband

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with the European Commission on state aid issues in relation to the provision of an urban fibre-to-the-home superfast broadband network.

Edward Vaizey: Ministers have had no discussions with the European Commission about this issue. Broadband Delivery UK officials have regular discussions with the Commission about state aid issues related to broadband deployment.

Broadband

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what plans he has for the roll-out of an urban fibre-to-the-home superfast broadband network.

Edward Vaizey: The market will drive the provision of superfast broadband to 66% of the UK which, given the commercial realities, is likely to include most of the urban areas. To what extent fibre-to-the-home is part of this roll-out is dependent on technical and commercial decisions. Other technologies, including fibre-to-the-cabinet and cable technology are capable of delivering superfast broadband.

Business: Finance

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent discussions his Department has had with executives from the National Lottery Fund on measures to assist small and medium-sized businesses in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England and Wales.

John Penrose: I am responding as I have responsibility for the national lottery. The National Lottery Distribution Fund is merely the fund in which the lottery good causes income is held on behalf of the 13 lottery distributing bodies which, acting independently of Government, make the decisions on grants. Neither I, nor my colleagues, have had meetings with lottery distributing bodies in relation to assistance for business, since they are required to work at arm’s length from Government. While the economy of the UK derives great benefit from the national lottery, the proceeds of the lottery are intended to support the arts, heritage, sport, charities and community and voluntary groups. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport lottery grants database, which is searchable at
	http://www.lottery.culture.gov.uk
	and uses information supplied by the lottery distributing bodies, shows that since May 2010, the Liverpool Walton constituency has received over £1.6 million in lottery funding.

Departmental Billing

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what proportion of invoices from suppliers his Department paid within 10 days of receipt in July and August 2010.

John Penrose: The proportion of invoices paid within 10 days of receipt by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in July and August 2010, is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Month Invoices paid within  10 days Total number of invoices paid 
			 July 2010 415 433 
			 August 2010 348 366

Departmental Consultants

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what procedures his Department uses when engaging external consultants.

John Penrose: Resourcing within the Department is done through our internal governance committees. Any request which has an impact on the size, cost or grade structure of our work force requires the submission of a business case before approval can be made.
	Only where the required specialist skills and expertise cannot be found within the organisation, or through advertising across the wider civil service, would engagement with external consultants become a possibility. Any business case would need to demonstrate clear value for money and have Corporate Committee approval; responsibility for decisions on recruiting people into interim and temporary positions has been delegated to the Corporate Committee by the Ministerial Board.
	Depending on the value, length of the contract and the type of consultant engaged further scrutiny by the Chief Procurement Officer in the Efficiency and Reform Group and the Minister for the Cabinet Office may be required to ensure the Department maximises the benefits and value of any contract.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on hospitality for events hosted by each Minister in his Department in each of the last 12 months. [Official Report, 2 November 2011, Vol. 534, c. 1MC.]

John Penrose: Since October 2010, the Department has spent a total of £890.36 on events hosted by the Minister for Sport and the Olympics, my hon. Friend the Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Hugh Robertson).

Departmental Procurement

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what progress his Department has made in eliminating pre-qualification questionnaires for procurements with a value of under £100,000.

John Penrose: The Department does not use pre-qualification questionnaires for procurements of under £100,000.00. Pre-qualification questionnaires are only used when carrying out procurement under the EU directives.

Departmental Public Expenditure

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on new furnishings in the last year.

John Penrose: The Department has not purchased any new furnishings in the last 12 months.

Football

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when he plans to respond to the Report from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Football Governance, HC 792.

Hugh Robertson: The Government's response to the report from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on football governance was published on 12 October 2011, and can be found on our website at the following link:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/publications/8493.aspx

Government Procurement Card

Chris Kelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many Government Procurement Card transactions were made by his Department's officials withdrawing cash from automated teller machines from 2006-07 to 2009-10; at what cost; and on which dates.

John Penrose: The information you have requested can be found in the following table:
	
		
			 Date Transaction cost (£) 
			 2007  
			 23 April 3.00 
			 20 April 3.00 
			 27 April 3.00 
			 21 June 3.00 
			 19 September 3.00 
			 24 September 3.00 
			 3 October 5.70 
			   
			 2008  
			 2 August 3.00 
			 10 October 3.70 
			   
			 2009  
			 7 June 10.67

Hillsborough Stadium

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with the Prime Minister since his appointment on the unredacted release of the Hillsborough Cabinet minutes.

Hugh Robertson: The Secretary of State has regular discussions with the Prime Minister on a wide range of issues. As agreed with the independent Hillsborough panel, the unredacted Cabinet minutes relating to the Hillsborough disaster will be released to the panel as part of the inquiry. The independent Hillsborough panel will then be free to publish the minutes and any other material they chose once they have completed their inquiry.

Mobile Phones

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport which body will determine how the mobile coverage improvement fund will be disbursed.

Edward Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will manage the funds allocated for the improvement of mobile coverage.

Mobile Phones: Scotland

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to ensure that 99 per cent. of the land mass of Scotland has adequate mobile voice coverage.

Edward Vaizey: The Government recognise the concerns of those who have no mobile phone coverage or have very poor service. It is for that reason that on 3 October the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), announced plans to invest £150 million in improving mobile phone reception in areas of the UK, including Scotland, where homes and businesses have poor or non-existent coverage. Detailed planning is now underway to make this investment and we expect the necessary procurement to begin next year, with improved services beginning to come into existence in 2013.

Ofcom

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract between Ofcom and Equiniti for the administration of the Programme Making and Special Events funding scheme.

Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), is unable to supply or publish the requested document. This is a contract between Ofcom and Equiniti, which is commercially sensitive and confidential and therefore a decision for Ofcom and Equiniti if they wish to publish it.
	I understand that Ofcom are considering publishing the invitation to tender that details the broad terms under which contractors were invited to bid.

Ofcom

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent discussions he has had with Ofcom on physical infrastructure access pricing.

Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has regular discussions with Ofcom on a wide range of subjects related to telecommunications, including physical infrastructure access pricing.

Olympic Games 2012

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what (a) total monetary value and (b) number of London 2012 Olympics (i) Tier 1 and (ii) Tier 2 contracts have been awarded to companies in each nation and region of the UK.

Hugh Robertson: The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is responsible for developing and building the venues and infrastructure for the London 2012 games. Over 1,500 businesses have supplied the ODA from across the devolved nations and the English regions.
	Q .  ( a)  and (b)(i)
	The spend to date by the ODA, by nation and English region (based on their registered address on the supplier invoice) and the number of Tier 1 contracts awarded can be found in the following table.
	
		
			 Nations and English regions Total contract value (£) Number of contracts 
			 Scotland 25,379,653 25 
			 Wales 417,415 10 
			 Northern Ireland 18,043,690 5 
			 London 3,454,882,430 775 
			 South East 1,014,877,482 233 
			 East of England 847,169,710 139 
			 West Midlands 452,767,861 60 
			 East Midlands 338,994,699 44 
			 North West 107,584,488 54 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 74,393,422 43 
			 North East 12,125,947 22 
			 South West 12,770,889 67 
			 Outside the UK 38,086,871 41 
			 Total 6,397,494,558 1518 
		
	
	Q. (b)(ii)
	These figures only account for the contracts awarded by the ODA to its own top tier of contractors (tier one contractors). The figures do not include the values of contracts further down the supply chain, in tiers two, three and so on, which are awarded by the tier one contractors and not by the ODA. For example, Bodycote Testing, Glasgow, provided design services for the Aquatics, CentreNoral Architects, Glasgow, provided architectural services for Primary Substation and Weldex, Inverness, provided plant hire services for the Olympic Stadium.
	Information on the full distribution and value of contracts won across the UK is not held as these are not public procurements run by the ODA. In 2009 the ODA undertook research into its supply chain and mapped out over 1,500 companies from across the UK that are helping to build the venues and infrastructure for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The map can be viewed at the following link:
	www.london2012.com/get-involved/business-network/oda-suppliers/map.php
	This represents only a fraction of the number of companies the ODA expects to benefit from the £6 billion of investment. The ODA estimates that overall up to 50,000 contracts will be generated throughout its supply chains with a value that runs into hundreds of millions of pounds.
	The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is a private company, as such we do not record details of contracts awarded by LOCOG.

Olympic Games 2012

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of the Inspire programme.

Hugh Robertson: The Inspire programme has been very successful across the UK over the last four years with projects in sport, culture, education, sustainability, volunteering and business opportunities and skills. The programme has also been promoted online at london2012.com, at community events, through the Nations and Regions group and as part of ministerial visits across the UK. Already, over 1,700 Inspire projects have signed up, and 10 million people have participated.
	The Government are encouraging local initiatives so that they can sustain their Inspire projects as part of the legacy from the games.

Olympic Games 2012

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport who is responsible for approving sponsorship arrangements for the stadium wrap for the London 2012 Olympics.

Hugh Robertson: The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) is a private company operating independently of Government responsible for staging the games. In August 2011, after a competitive procurement process, LOCOG appointed Dow Chemical as the supplier of the stadium wrap. As with all LOCOG's contracts, the wrap must comply with LOCOG's sustainable sourcing code and be consistent with high standards of environmental responsibility. Dow Chemical is a Worldwide International Olympic Committee (IOC) Olympic Partner and therefore, one of 11 “TOP” partners for the London 2012 games.

Olympic Games 2012: Kent

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the London 2012 Olympics on Kent.

Hugh Robertson: The Government and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) established the Nations and Regions Group to ensure UK-wide engagement and to maximise the legacy from London 2012. This group works directly with representatives from each of the nations and English regions to realise the sporting, economic, and cultural benefits of the 2012 games.
	Kent stands to gain from the wide range of opportunities created by the 2012 games, through businesses winning games-related work, increased tourism and cultural celebrations. Some examples of how the South East, and specifically Kent, will benefit from the games are given below.
	Over 19,800 schools and colleges across the UK have registered for LOCOG's London 2012 education programme, Get Set; 3,020 schools and colleges are registered in the South East. In Kent 620 schools and colleges have registered for Get Set, including Sevenoaks Primary School and Sevenoaks Preparatory School.
	Over 1,700 cultural or sporting projects across the UK have been awarded the Inspire mark. In the South East 156 projects have been awarded Inspire marks.
	In addition, 233 contracts have been awarded by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) to suppliers in the South East. Kent fencing company Chestnut Products Ltd was contracted to install the perimeter fencing to the main Olympic Park and also to supply and install the perimeter fencing for Broxbourne's White Water Canoe Centre. Chestnut Products Ltd also works directly as a contractor on a supply and install basis for general fencing around the park.
	So far 24,924 companies in the region have registered on Competefor (the website where London 2012 contract opportunities are advertised), and 382 contracts have been awarded to Competefor suppliers. Not all the information on “supply chain” level contracts is in the public domain. There may be other companies that have secured “supply chain” contracts in the region.
	I have also announced the ‘Places People Play' programme, which will bring sporting legacy to life in communities across the country. This will be achieved by transforming the places where people play sport, inspiring people to make sport happen at a local level and creating sporting opportunities that give everyone the chance to become part of the mass participation legacy. Further detail can be found at the following link:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/news/news_stories/7565.aspx
	In addition, the “Kent School Games” was part of the national pilot of the School Games programme that has been rolled out nationwide from September this year.
	Locations across the UK, particularly those that are hosting international teams in pre-games training camps (PGTCs), have additional opportunities to realise the economic benefits of the games. 28 agreements have been signed with teams to hold PGTCs in the South East including the National Olympic Committee of Nepal who will be using facilities in Kent.

Planning Permission

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how many officials in his Department worked on the draft national planning policy framework produced by the Practitioners' Advisory Group;
	(2)  how many officials in his Department worked on the production of the draft national planning policy framework published by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

John Penrose: I refer the hon. Member for Birmingham Erdington to the answer given by the Minister for Decentralisation and Cities, Department for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tunbridge Wells (Greg Clark), on 10 October 2011, Official Report, column 16W.

Radio: Motor Vehicles

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what his most recent estimate is of the proportion of new cars which are equipped with DAB radio.

Edward Vaizey: Based on the most recent industry data, 17.8% of new cars registered were fitted with DAB radio as standard in the third quarter of 2011. This is up from 5% in the third quarter of 2010. Vehicle manufacturers have committed to include DAB radio as standard in all new models by 2013.

Tourism

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of (a) EU citizens visiting the UK and (b) UK residents visiting other EU countries in each of the last five years.

John Penrose: The numbers of EU citizens visiting the UK and the number of UK residents visiting other EU countries over the past five years can be found in the Office for National Statistics International Passenger Survey, in the following table.
	
		
			 Thousand 
			  Number of visits from EU to UK Number of visits from UK to EU 
			 2006 21,287 51,314 
			 2007 21,824 51,186 
			 2008 21,627 50,081 
			 2009 20,331 42,396 
			 2010 20,266 38,925

HEALTH

Cancer: Health Services

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the Government plans to ensure that local authorities prioritise the awareness and early diagnosis of cancer when developing joint strategic needs assessments.

Paul Burstow: Subject to the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill, clinical commissioning groups and local authorities will be required to perform joint strategic needs assessments (JSNAs) and develop joint health and well-being strategies through local health and well-being boards.
	The Government are developing statutory guidance and wider resources to support health and well-being boards in undertaking JSNAs and joint health and well-being strategies.
	The Government are still considering what role local authorities will play in the early diagnosis of cancer.

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what information his Department holds on the recommendations of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on screening intervals for patients with hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer;
	(2)  what information his Department holds on the screening intervals used by each NHS Trust for patients with hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer.

Paul Burstow: For patients identified as being at risk of developing hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC), “Improving Outcomes in Colorectal Cancers”, updated by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in 2004, recommends frequent surveillance from a young age. The guidance states that the frequency of this screening should be based on the recommendations of the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) and the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland (ACPGBI).
	“Guidelines for colorectal cancer screening and surveillance in moderate and high risk groups”, published on behalf of the of the BSG and ACPGBI and updated in 2009, recommends that, from the age of 25, patients identified as being at risk of developing HNPCC receive a colonoscopy at intervals of between 18 and 24 months. From the age of 50, surveillance should also include an oesophagogastroduodenoscopy every two years. A copy of the guidance has been placed in the Library.
	The surveillance of people identified as being at risk of HNPCC is managed locally. The Department does not monitor the surveillance protocols that are in place for individual patients.
	Decisions regarding the surveillance of patients who have been diagnosed with HNPCC are made by clinicians on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the individual circumstances of each patient.

Disease Control

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to reduce non-communicable diseases following the UN High-level meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases on 19 and 20 September 2011.

Anne Milton: The Department is addressing the growing burden of non-communicable diseases by tackling the common underlying risk factors and wider social and environmental determinants. The primary focus is on prevention, with actions directed at reducing tobacco use, harmful consumption of alcohol and physical inactivity and improving diet and nutrition. We have also established the Responsibility Deal, in partnership with commercial and voluntary organisations and public health professionals, to support people to change their behaviour and achieve real sustained improvements in public health.
	In the national health service, we are strengthening our primary care—putting the patient at the heart of service delivery. The NHS Health Check programme aids early detection of diabetes, cardiovascular and kidney diseases and timely intervention through integrated patient care while maintaining the focus on equity and the most vulnerable.
	Internationally, working with Department of International Development, we are helping developing countries to build health systems that can meet the challenge of non-communicable disease and all causes of ill health.

Drugs: Misuse

Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the tendering process was for the recently published National Addiction Centre and National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse reports on addiction to medicine; where invitations to tender were advertised; and what requirements there were for declaration of interests by those involved.

Anne Milton: The standard procurement process for contract values of less than £10,000 was followed in letting the contract to produce the literature review on addiction to medicines. Three organisations were invited to submit bids, and following the consideration of written proposals, the National Addictions Centre was selected.
	The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA) is a Special Health Authority which is an arm’s length body of the Department of Health. The Department instructed the NTA to interrogate the data sources at its disposal and no external tenders were invited.
	The Research Councils UK policy and code of conduct on the governance of good research conduct and the UK Research Integrity Office code of conduct for research make clear the requirements for declaring interests.

Government Procurement Card

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which non-departmental bodies, agencies or arm's length bodies for which the Department of Health has responsibility or oversight made use of the Government Procurement Card in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09 and (c) 2009-10.

Simon Burns: The following table shows the non-departmental bodies, agencies or arm's length bodies (ALBs) for which the Department of Health has responsibility or oversight that made use of the Government Procurement Card in 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10.
	
		
			 ALB name 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 
			 Appointments Commission Yes Yes Yes 
			 Health Protection Agency Yes Yes Yes 
			 Health and Social Care Information Centre Yes Yes Yes 
			 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority Yes Yes Yes 
			 Human Tissue Authority Yes Yes Yes 
			 NHS Blood and Transplant No No Yes 
			 NHS Business Services Authority Yes Yes Yes 
			 NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement (1)Yes Yes Yes 
			 (1) For part of year.

Health and Social Care Bill

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many officials are working on the passage through Parliament of the Health and Social Care Bill; and what the cost was of employing those officials in the latest period for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: As with all Government Bills, the Department has a central Bill team working full time on the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill. The team employs five permanent departmental officials at a cost of approximately £160,000 from the Bill's introduction in the House of Commons in January 2011, until August 2011 (the latest period for which figures are available). In addition, two permanent departmental officials have been working on Lords and stakeholder handling since May, at an approximate cost of £32,000 (until August 2011, the latest period for which figures are available).
	In addition, officials from up to 20 policy teams have contributed to the work on the Bill, as part of their wider duties. For these officials, it is not possible to disentangle work directly related to the passage of the Bill from their wider policy development role.

Health Services: North West

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had on the future of the building that formerly housed the Cheshire and Merseyside Treatment Centre.

Simon Burns: No discussions have taken place with Ministers on the future of the building that formerly housed the Cheshire and Merseyside NHS Treatment Centre.
	The local national health service is currently exploring options for the utilisation of the building and a period of public consultation has recently ended.

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the monetary value was of payments made to other European economic area countries for health care provided to British citizens under the European Health Insurance Card in 2010-11; and what the monetary value was of payments received by his Department for treatment in the UK of nationals of other European economic area countries under the scheme in the same period.

Anne Milton: In 2010-11, the total monetary value of payments made by the United Kingdom to other member states of the European economic area (EEA) and Switzerland for actual cost claims for health care provided to UK citizens in other member states was £62.4 million. The total monetary value of payments made by other member states of the EEA to the UK in 2010-11 for actual cost claims for health care provided to EEA citizens in the UK was £26.3 million. These payments relate to combined claims for temporary visitors (via European Health Insurance Cards); workers temporarily posted abroad by their employer; and referrals for treatment in other EEA countries. Due to the nature of the claims system between member states, it is not currently possible to disaggregate the data consistently for all member states by either type of claim or type of treatment.

Ipswich Hospital: Accident and Emergency Departments

Daniel Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many emergency admissions there were at Ipswich Hospital in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how much Ipswich Hospital received in emergency admissions payments in each year since 1997.

Simon Burns: Information about national health service trust income specifically relating to emergency admissions is not collected centrally.
	The following table shows the number of emergency admissions at the Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust from 1997-98 to 2009-10.
	
		
			  Emergency admissions 
			 2009-10 28,796 
			 2008-09 26,776 
			 2007-08 25,658 
			 2006-07 27,851 
			 2005-06 29,217 
			 2004-05 27,546 
			 2003-04 26,463 
			 2002-03 24,086 
			 2001-02 24,735 
			 2000-01 23,083 
			 1999-2000 22,502 
			 1998-99 21,826 
			 1997-98 20,438 
			 Notes:  1. Data are for finished admission episodes (FAE). An FAE is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.  2. Emergency admissions are collected from the following codes: 21=via accident and emergency (A&E) services, including the casualty department of the provider 22=via general practitioner 23=via Bed Bureau, including the Central Bureau 24=via consultant out-patient clinic 28=other means, including patients who arrive via the A&E department of another health care provider.  3. Hospital providers can also include treatment centres (TC). Normally, if data is tabulated by health care provider, the figure for an NHS trust gives the activity of all the sites as one aggregated figure. However, in the case of those with embedded treatment centres, these data are quoted separately. In these cases, “X” is appended to the code for the rest of the trust, to remind users that the figures are for all sites of the trust excluding the treatment centres. The quality of TC returns are such that data may not be complete. Some NHS trusts have not registered their TC as a separate site, and it is therefore not possible to identify their activity separately. Data from some independent sector providers, where the onus for arrangement of dataflows is on the commissioner, may be missing. Care must be taken when using this data as the counts may be lower than true figures.  4. Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data.  5. Activity included: activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.  Source:  HES, The NHS Information Centre for health and social care.

Maternity Services

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how he plans to improve the outcomes of NHS maternity care.

Anne Milton: The Department has identified improving the safety of maternity services as an improvement area in the “National Health Service Outcomes Framework for 2011-12”. To support the NHS in improving outcomes in pregnancy, labour and immediately after birth, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence will develop new quality standards, based on the best available evidence, on antenatal care, intrapartum care and postnatal care.
	The Department also encourages early access to maternity services and has included the maternity 12-week early access indicator as one of the measures for quality in the “NHS Operating Framework for 2011-12”. Early access supports the dissemination of public health advice on how to minimise the risk of adverse outcomes and where possible enables those women at higher risk of complications to be identified at an early stage and receive additional support and monitoring.

Maternity Services

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) midwife-led and (b) consultant-led maternity units there are in each region.

Anne Milton: The Department does not collect information on the number of midwife-led and consultant-led maternity units. Information supplied to NHS Choices is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Strategic health authority Midwife-led units Consultant-led (obstetric) units 
			 North-east 7 11 
			 North-west 5 27 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 7 21 
			 East midlands 4 10 
			 West midlands 9 19 
			 East of England 6 21 
			 London 4 28 
			 South east coast 3 21 
			 South central 11 10 
			 South-west 17 16 
			 Source:  NHS Choices.

Mental Health Services: Finance

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total NHS expenditure on mental health was in (a) London, (b) the South East and (c) Kent in each of the last 15 years.

Simon Burns: The information requested is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following table.
	
		
			 Programme budgeting estimated expenditure on own population's mental health problems by primary care trusts (PCTs) within the London and South East Coast Strategic Health Authority (SHA) regions, and PCTs in Kent for 2003-04 to 2009-10 
			  Estimated expenditure on mental health problems (£ million) 
			 Financial year London SHA South East Coast SHA Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT West Kent PCT Medway PCT 
			 2003-04 1,321.6 481.8 95.3 70.0 23.8 
			 2004-05 1,476.7 552.8 101.2 73.0 30.3 
			 2005-06 1,626.1 535.7 94.9 78.4 31.5 
			 2006-07 1,728.4 555.7 102.5 56.8 33.2 
			 2007-08 1,848.3 658.8 110.2 106.6 32.2 
			 2008-09 1,934.8 666.6 130.8 97.3 35.9 
			 2009-10 2,030.9 729.6 143.6 101.6 41.4 
			 Notes: 1. Programme budgeting data was first collected in 2003-04. The Department cannot provide estimated expenditure figures on specific disease categories such as mental health problems in the years prior to this. Data has not yet been published for 2010-11. 2. In order to improve data quality, continual refinements have been made to the programme budgeting data calculation methodology since the first collection in 2003-04. 3. The underlying data which support programme budgeting data are also subject to yearly changes. Caution is therefore advised when using programme budgeting data to draw conclusions on changes in PCT spending patterns between years. 4. Figures include expenditure across all sectors. Disease specific expenditure do not include expenditure on prevention, or general practitioner expenditure, but do include prescribing expenditure. 5. Figures for 2003-04 are net expenditure. Figures for 2004-05 onwards are net expenditure adjusted to add back expenditure funded from sources outside of the national health service and to deduct expenditure on other PCTs populations incurred through lead commissioning arrangements. 6. SHA level expenditure is calculated using the combined expenditure figures of each PCT within the SHA area. It does not include expenditure by the SHA. 7. Table figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred thousand. Source: Annual PCT programme budgeting financial returns

Mental Health Services: Islington

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding was allocated for mental health services in the London borough of Islington in each of the last five years; and how much funding has been allocated for such services in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

Simon Burns: Recurrent revenue allocations are currently made to primary care trusts (PCTs) and not to local authority boroughs. The allocations made to Islington PCT for the last five years are provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Recurrent revenue allocation (£000) 
			 2011-12 435,038 
			 2010-11 433,316 
			 2009-10 412,126 
			 2008-09 383,806 
		
	
	
		
			 2007-08 363,928 
			 Notes: Allocations are not always comparable between years because of changes to baseline funding. For example, in 2011-12 there was a locally agreed transfer from PCTs to local authorities of funding and commissioning responsibility for the social care of people with learning disabilities. 
		
	
	Once allocated, it is for PCTs to use this funding to commission services to meet the healthcare needs of their local populations, taking account of local and national priorities. Funds are not allocated separately to PCTs for mental health services. For information on funding used by Islington PCT to commission mental health services in the borough, the hon. Member should contact NHS North Central London.
	Subject to the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill, from 2013-14, the NHS Commissioning Board will be responsible for the allocation of resources to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). The board will allocate resources to CCGs in a way that supports the principle of securing equivalent access to NHS services relative to the prospective burden of disease and disability. How these allocations are determined will be a matter for the board.

Midwives: Training

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many places for student midwives there were in each region in academic year 2010-11.

Anne Milton: The following table shows training places commissioned for student midwives by strategic health authority for the academic year 2010 to 2011.
	
		
			  Degree 18 month conversion diploma Total 
			 NHS North East 65 25 90 
			 NHS North West 221 12 233 
			 NHS Yorkshire and the Humber 224 31 255 
			 NHS East Midlands 146 24 170 
			 NHS West Midlands 241 54 295 
			 NHS East England 253 31 284 
			 NHS London 388 187 575 
			 NHS South East Coast 165 54 219 
			 NHS South Central 174 24 198 
			 NHS South West 157 12 169 
			 England total 2,034 454 2,488 
			 Source: Quarterly Monitoring Returns

Midwives: Training

Amber Rudd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many student midwives were in receipt of a bursary in academic year 2010-11; what the average bursary paid to a student midwife was in that year; and what the total cost was to his Department of bursaries paid to student midwives.

Anne Milton: The number of midwifery students who held a bursary, the average bursary paid to those students and the total cost of all bursaries paid to student midwives in academic year 2010-11 can be found in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of bursary holders  (1) Average amount paid per bursary holder  (2 )  (£) Total amount paid  (2 )  (£) 
			 2010-11 5,218 5,722 29,854,947 
			 (1 )Includes nil award holders (European Union fees only students and students whose living allowance element of the Bursary has been reduced to nil after income assessment).  (2 )Includes the basic award, all supplementary allowances and one-off payments.  Note:  All figures are rounded to the nearest pound.  Source:  NHS Student Bursaries Services Authority

Musculoskeletal Disorders: Health Services

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the (a) variation and (b) quality of provision of musculoskeletal services in the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: We are aware of anecdotal evidence of variations in the quality of provision of musculoskeletal services in the national health service, alongside many examples of good practice. We intend to hold the NHS to account, through the NHS Commissioning Board, for achieving sustained improvements in the quality of life of all patients with long-term conditions, including those with musculoskeletal disease, and for helping people to recover from episodes of ill-health and injury.
	There are many existing sources of guidance, including clinical guidelines and other guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). In addition we plan to ask NICE to develop quality standards for some of the major musculoskeletal conditions, so that patients and commissioners can have a clear view of the standards of care which the NHS should be aspiring to achieve.

NHS Foundation Trusts

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that NHS hospital trusts abide by his Department's guidance on the use of confidentiality clauses in compromise agreements.

Simon Burns: The Department does not routinely monitor the use of confidentiality clauses in compromise agreements. The Department's guidance, contained within the health circular HSC 2004/001, does not prevent the use of confidentiality clauses per se. However, it does state that national health service employers must consider with their legal advisers whether such a clause is necessary in the circumstances of each case and that if such a clause is included within a particular agreement that it complies with their various statutory obligations regarding the treatment of confidential information, including the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.
	Before an employee considers signing a compromise agreement, which may or may not contain a confidentiality clause, the employer is required to pay for the employee to have independent legal advice on the terms of the agreement.

NHS: Reorganisation

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many officials are working on the reorganisation of the NHS; and what the cost was of employing those officials in the latest period for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: Departmental staff are working directly and indirectly to deliver the new health and social care system. Staff numbers and costs associated with change in the national health service are not easily divisible from other departmental activities, including work on improvement. There is a central Bill team, and over-arching Integrated Programme Office.
	The central Bill team work full time on the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill through Parliament. This team comprises five permanent departmental officials at a cost of approximately £160,000 from January to August 2011 (the latest period for which figures are available). Two permanent officials have also been working on Lords and stakeholder handling since May, at an approximate cost of £32,000. In addition, the Integrated Programme Office is co-ordinating transition to the new system in the Department and currently has 29 staff with an estimated cost of £862,000 from April 2011 to August 2011.

NHS: Reorganisation

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what responsibilities in respect of proposed (a) hospital closures and (b) health service reconfigurations (i) he has under present arrangements and (ii) he would have under the provisions of the Health and Social Care Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), will retain ultimate accountability for securing the provision of services. However, this will be done through his relationships with the national health service bodies established by the Health and Social Care Bill. Ministers will be responsible not for direct operational management, but for overseeing and holding to account the national bodies. The reconfiguration of services will continue, as now, to be a locally-led and managed process.
	Where there are concerns or disputes over reconfigurations that cannot be resolved locally, we are retaining existing powers in legislation for local authority scrutiny functions to be able to refer schemes. We are also proposing to amend the scrutiny regulations so that, in the first instance, referrals are to the NHS Commissioning Board and, if outstanding issues remain, to the Secretary of State. This is consistent with the Government's vision to develop a more locally accountable and autonomous NHS. However, the Commissioning Board and the Secretary of State will have powers to direct commissioners if they consider this is an appropriate response following a referral.

Social Work: Qualifications

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for future levels of qualifications required for students studying social work; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: Social work is a degree level entry profession and there are no plans to change this. The ‘Requirements for Social Work Training’ (Department of Health, 2002) set out the outcome statements for what a student social worker must know, understand and be able to do to be awarded the degree in social work.
	A copy has already been placed in the Library.

Streptococcus: Screening

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's policy is on testing women for group B streptococcal infection during pregnancy; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The UK National Screening, which advises Ministers and the national health service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy, considered its policy for screening for group B streptococcus (GBS) carriage in pregnancy in 2009. The policy review concluded that the evidence did not support the introduction of screening. The policy is due to be considered again in 2012, or earlier, if significant new evidence emerges.
	The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has produced a Green-top guideline, ‘Prevention of Early Onset Group B Streptococcal Disease’, which provides guidance for obstetricians, midwives and neonatologists on the prevention of early-onset neonatal GBS disease. The RCOG has also produced information for women and their families who are expecting a baby or planning to become pregnant, ‘Preventing group B streptococcus (GBS) infection in newborn babies—information for you’.

Surgery: Females

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many labiaplasty operations were performed by the NHS in each year since 2006; and at what cost.

Simon Burns: The available information is in the following table. Information on the cost of labiality reductions cannot be separately identified from that for other related procedures.
	
		
			 Finished consultant episodes with labia reduction as primary or secondary procedure 
			  Activity 
			 2006-07 404 
			 2007-08 669 
			 2008-09 1,118 
			 2009-10 1,378 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are for all English hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector. 2. A finished consultant episode (FCE) is defined as a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider, FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. 3. Care should be taken in comparing figures for different years because of changes in data quality and coverage, in particular coverage of the independent sector.

Surgery: Females

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average age of patients undergoing NHS labiaplasty operations was in the last year.

Simon Burns: The average age of patients undergoing labiaplasty operations funded by the national health service in 2009-10 was 30.

Warrington Primary Care Trust: Debts

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether any of Warrington primary care trust's debts will be passed on to the GP consortium set up to cover the same area.

Simon Burns: In line with the 2011-12 NHS Operating Framework, the Department does not expect there to be debt relating to deficit in the accounts of primary care trusts (PCTs) in their final year of operation.
	The 2011-12 NHS Operating Framework states that general practitioner consortia (now clinical commissioning groups or CCGs) will have their own budgets from 2013-14 and they will not be responsible for resolving PCT legacy debt that arose prior to 2011-12. PCTs and clusters must ensure that, through planning in 2011-12 and 2012-13, all existing legacy issues are dealt with.
	During 2011-12 and 2012-13, the Department expects PCTs and developing CCGs to work together to ensure financial control is maintained to prevent PCT deficits in 2011-12 and 2012-13. This will reduce the risk for CCGs that they could acquire responsibility for post 2010-11 PCT deficit unresolved at the point of PCT abolition.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Departmental Chief Scientific Advisers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the salary, including benefits, was of his Department's chief scientific adviser in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and how many individuals have held the post in the last five years.

David Willetts: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was created in June 2009 following a machinery of government change which merged the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS).
	Professor Brian Collins was appointed as the first BERR chief scientific adviser in May 2008 and he became the BIS chief scientific adviser (CSA) following the machinery of government changes. DIUS did not have a CSA. Professor Collins left BIS in May 2011 at the end of his three year appointment. BIS has recently undergone an internal restructuring and an open competition is currently under way to select a new CSA.
	Professor Collins was paid within the pay range of a the senior civil service pay band 2 which is currently £82,900 to £162,500.

Departmental Chief Scientific Advisers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many full-time equivalent staff were employed in the office of his Department's chief scientific adviser in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and on what date the office was established.

David Willetts: The chief scientific adviser's (CSA) office in BIS was established in May 2008. It was resourced by a part-time CSA (0.4 full-time equivalent, senior civil servant (pay band 2), and one part-time office manager (executive officer) (0.4 full-time equivalent). A full-time assistant chief scientific adviser (Grade 7) was employed from September 2008 and a senior policy adviser (senior executive officer) from November 2010.

Departmental Procurement

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what provisions in respect of behavioural standards have been included in procurement contracts issued by his Department since May 2010.

Edward Davey: BIS expects all suppliers to maintain high standards of integrity and professionalism in their business dealings. The Department's standard contractual terms reflect this requirement. There are no specific terms relating to behavioural standards but standard contract terms require the contractor to comply with standards applying to “confidentiality”, “data protection”, “prevention of bribery”, “compliance with the Official Secrets Acts”, “conflict of interest”, “non-discrimination”, “equality”, “health and safety” and “TUPE”.

European Investment Bank

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has made an assessment of the interest rates charged to businesses under European Investment Bank funding in comparison to those offered under the terms of standard loans from UK banks; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: The interest rates charged to businesses under European Investment Bank (EIB) funding in comparison to that offered under the terms of standard loans are the subject of a contractual agreement between the EIB and the banks that are accessing EIB funding. Banks are contractually obliged to pass on to small and medium-sized enterprises the funding advantage arising from the use of EIB financing.

European Investment Bank

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what guidance he provides to banks on information to be provided to their clients on European Investment Bank funding.

Mark Prisk: The Government provide no guidance to banks in relation to European Investment Bank (EIB) loans. Banks are contractually obliged to advertise the EIB's contribution when a loan is made under an EIB funding facility.
	Government provide information on what EIB funding is available for small and medium-sized businesses and how to access an EIB-financed loan on the businesslink.gov website (including a list of banks providing funding on EIB). See:
	http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1083207823&type=RESOURCES

European Investment Bank

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many small companies have received European Investment Bank funding in the last year.

Mark Prisk: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not hold this information.

European Investment Bank

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the performance of UK banks in delivering European Investment Bank funding for small companies.

Mark Prisk: No research has been commissioned on this subject.

Government Procurement Card

Chris Kelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many Government Procurement Card transactions were made by his Department's officials withdrawing cash from automated teller machines from 2006-07 to 2009-10; at what cost; and on which dates.

Edward Davey: The Department and its predecessors have had no instances of officials using a Government Procurement Card to withdraw cash from automated teller machines in the period 2006-07 to 2009-10. It is the Department's policy that cash withdrawals of any nature are not permitted via a Government Procurement Card.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what role he envisages for professional business advisers in the establishment of new businesses within (a) enterprise zones and (b) areas represented by local enterprise partnerships.

Mark Prisk: Local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) are developed from the bottom up. It is for them to decide how they pursue their priorities across their local areas and within their enterprise zones.
	Stimulating enterprise has been identified by many LEPs as a key priority and was the subject of a workshop at the recent LEP Network inaugural event. This provided LEP chairs with the opportunity to share ideas on how they are pursuing this objective in their localities.
	The Department is also demonstrating to LEPs how they can syndicate content from the Business.gov website which will increase the number of online channels for small and medium-sized enterprises to access the site's content and tools.

National Planning Policy Framework

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  how many officials in his Department worked on the draft of the national planning policy framework produced by the Department for Communities and Local Government;
	(2)  how many officials in his Department worked on the draft of the national planning policy framework produced by the practitioners' advisory group.

Mark Prisk: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for Decentralisation and Cities, Department for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tunbridge Wells (Greg Clark), on 10 October 2011, Official Report, column reference 16W.

Post Offices

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with Post Office Ltd on the re-opening of sub-post offices; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Davey: Before considering any expansion of the post office network it is critical to ensure that the existing network is thriving. The Government have provided £1.34 billion of funding over the period of the spending review to modernise the network and safeguard the post office network's future. As part of this package, Post Office Ltd has committed to maintain a network of at least 11,500 branches over the whole period, and to continue to adhere to the strict access criteria that demand that 99% of the national population live within three miles of a post office outlet. Under this Government there will be no further post office closure programmes.
	Operational matters, such as the provision and location of individual post office branches are the responsibility of the management of Post Office Ltd. The Government, as shareholder, do not play a role in these matters, and do not comment on, or influence, decisions relating to individual post office branches.

Regeneration: Liverpool

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the impact of Liverpool Vision funding on small and medium-sized businesses in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency and (b) Merseyside.

Mark Prisk: Liverpool Vision is part of the local response to changes in arrangements for business support for small and medium-sized businesses which will come into effect over the coming months. It has an important role in identifying and encouraging high-growth businesses of the future, particularly in life sciences and the creative and digital sector.

Regeneration: Liverpool

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the ability of small and medium-sized businesses in Liverpool, Walton constituency to gain access to Liverpool Vision funding.

Mark Prisk: Liverpool Vision is part of the local response to changes in arrangements for business support for small and medium-sized businesses which will come into effect over the coming months. It is currently working with the Liverpool Echo newspaper on delivery of a successful Regional Growth Fund bid to stimulate growth in small and medium-sized businesses in the Liverpool City Region through media advocacy. This will provide businesses with access to grants and to additional support through, coaching and mentoring.

Regional Growth Fund

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he plans to announce his decision on bids made by organisations in the Bristol area for funding from the Regional Growth Fund.

Mark Prisk: Announcements from the first round of Regional Growth Fund bidding were made on 12 April and this includes one bid which has an impact in the Bristol area. Bids received in the second round of bidding are being assessed and we aim to make announcements in the autumn.

Science: Government Departments

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to include (a) non-departmental public bodies, (b) advisory bodies, (c) executive agencies, (d) public corporations and (e) other central Government public bodies in his review of science in Government Departments under the Science and Engineering Assurance programme.

David Willetts: The Science and Engineering Assurance review programme is directed by the Government Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Sir John Beddington and managed by his staff in the Government Office for Science.
	The Science and Engineering Assurance programme is focused on Whitehall's ministerial Departments, and is scheduled to be completed early in 2012.
	These reviews do consider how departments draw evidence and advice from their relevant arm’s length bodies, but the bodies themselves are not reviewed as part of the process.
	On completion of the programme, Sir John is not planning to continue to review Departments in the same way. Work is under way to develop a successor to the review programme. At this stage there are no plans to extend it to Departments' arm’s length bodies.

South East England Development Agency

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the largest redundancy payment which will be made to an employee of the South East England Development Agency by March 2012;
	(2)  how much the South East England Development Agency spent on employee expenses in each of the last five years.

Mark Prisk: The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) pays redundancy in accordance with the terms of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme. The highest redundancy payment to an individual under the scheme in the period between the announcement of regional development agency abolition (June 2010) to 31 March 2011 will be just over £100,000 based on the scheme's tariff of one month's salary per year of service.
	Details of reimbursement for travel and subsistence expenses are available in SEEDA's annual reports and accounts. Those for the last five years are as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Expenditure on travel and subsistence (£000) 
			 2010-11 248 
			 2009-10 492 
			 2008-09 691 
			 2007-08 754 
			 2006-07 887

Students: Loans

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect on progression to higher education for students aged 24 years and over who are required to take out a loan to support themselves.

David Willetts: Students aged 24 years and over are not expected to be disproportionately affected by the reforms as they will also be eligible for fee loans.
	The equalities impact assessment published in November 2010 explained that mature students are less likely to be put off getting a loan, as they will face a shorter remaining working life and therefore length of time to pay back the loan; they are more likely to have their debt forgiven.
	Mature students are more likely than younger students to obtain support in the form of maintenance grants from the Government, as they are classed as 'independent' students and entitlements to student support are based on their own income. Additionally, mature students are more likely to study part-time and therefore are more likely to benefit from the new fee loans for part-time students.

Teachers: English Language

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the average cost of (a) training and (b) employing a teacher for English for Speakers of Other Languages courses.

John Hayes: holding answer 12 October 2011
	The Department has no information on the costs of training and employing teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages. The Government are not the employer of the Further Education (FE) workforce and, as independent organisations, it is for FE colleges and other training providers to make decisions on the training and employment of staff based on their business needs.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Badgers

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the likely trends in the prevalence of infection in badgers inside the specified culling areas in the first year of the operation of the new arrangements.

James Paice: Our objective is to bring down the incidence of bovine TB in cattle throughout England from its current unacceptable level.
	Currently there is no reliable diagnostic field test for bovine TB in live badgers so it would not be possible to know the prevalence of TB in badgers in an area before culling. Therefore the effect of culling on prevalence in the first year could not be seen.

Primates: Experiments

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to recommendation nine of the Review of research using non-human primates chaired by Professor Sir Patrick Bateson FRS, what steps her Department takes to ensure non-human primate experiments undertaken overseas and funded by UK organisations comply with National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research guidelines.

David Willetts: I have been asked to reply.
	The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) guidelines ‘Primate accommodation, care and use’ are a condition of funding of the major research council and charitable funders of primate research. The NC3Rs advises the funding bodies on implementation of the principles in the guidance. The guidelines apply to any research involving primates conducted in the UK and abroad which is funded by the NC3Rs, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Medical Research Council, Royal Society, Wellcome Trust or other AMRC charities. Researchers and their host establishments are responsible for applying the guidelines.